Byron
Byron was given to 233 boys in 2025, #981 among boys’ names; 82,541 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 56,200 Americans named Byron and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 48 years old and half are between 31 and 63.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Byron by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Byron mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Byron is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.” Its etymology gives the sense “at the byre or cattleshed” (byrum).
A habitational surname from Old English byrum (“at the byre or cattleshed”).
/ˈbaɪɹən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Byron?
#981 among boys’ names, 2025
Byron fell from #599 in 2015 to #981 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.24 to 0.14 per 1,000.
1,289 babies in 1964, the peak
Byron peaked in 1964, when 1,289 babies were given it (1,284 boys, #213 among boys’ names). The 233 births of 2025 are 18% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 233 | #981 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 275 | #878 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 291 | #836 | 0.17 |
| 2022 | 264 | #891 | 0.15 |
| 2021 | 339 | #751 | 0.19 |
| 2020 | 294 | #790 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 347 | #711 | 0.19 |
| 2018 | 324 | #737 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | 399 | #649 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 385 | #670 | 0.20 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 457 | #599 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 402 | #653 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 515 | #516 | 0.27 |
| 2012 | 481 | #543 | 0.25 |
| 2011 | 512 | #505 | 0.27 |
| 2010 | 565 | #465 | 0.29 |
| 2009 | 738 | #401 | 0.37 |
| 2008 | 617 | #450 | 0.30 |
| 2007 | 496 | #523 | 0.24 |
| 2006 | 493 | #522 | 0.24 |
| 2005 | 503 | #492 | 0.25 |
| 2004 | 480 | #510 | 0.24 |
| 2003 | 502 | #492 | 0.25 |
| 2002 | 473 | #486 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 491 | #481 | 0.25 |
| 2000 | 544 | #439 | 0.28 |
| 1999 | 562 | #420 | 0.29 |
| 1998 | 549 | #422 | 0.29 |
| 1997 | 607 | #391 | 0.32 |
| 1996 | 566 | #410 | 0.30 |
| 1995 | 598 | #391 | 0.31 |
| 1994 | 645 | #368 | 0.33 |
| 1993 | 739 | #339 | 0.38 |
| 1992 | 842 | #314 | 0.42 |
| 1991 | 908 | #287 | 0.45 |
| 1990 | 1,016 | #265 | 0.49 |
| 1989 | 1,074 | #244 | 0.54 |
| 1988 | 1,056 | #231 | 0.55 |
| 1987 | 930 | #249 | 0.50 |
| 1986 | 893 | #252 | 0.48 |
| 1985 | 894 | #252 | 0.48 |
| 1984 | 892 | #246 | 0.49 |
| 1983 | 1,030 | #221 | 0.57 |
| 1982 | 864 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1981 | 996 | #235 | 0.56 |
| 1980 | 1,025 | #231 | 0.57 |
| 1979 | 851 | #249 | 0.49 |
| 1978 | 793 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1977 | 851 | #241 | 0.52 |
| 1976 | 906 | #224 | 0.58 |
| 1975 | 913 | #224 | 0.58 |
| 1974 | 954 | #221 | 0.61 |
| 1973 | 915 | #230 | 0.59 |
| 1972 | 944 | #227 | 0.58 |
| 1971 | 1,085 | #217 | 0.61 |
| 1970 | 1,230 | #206 | 0.66 |
| 1969 | 1,203 | #208 | 0.67 |
| 1968 | 1,126 | #206 | 0.65 |
| 1967 | 1,180 | #196 | 0.68 |
| 1966 | 1,178 | #201 | 0.66 |
| 1965 | 1,225 | #204 | 0.66 |
| 1964 | 1,284 | #213 | 0.64 |
| 1963 | 1,244 | #219 | 0.61 |
| 1962 | 1,264 | #218 | 0.61 |
| 1961 | 1,225 | #224 | 0.58 |
| 1960 | 1,191 | #234 | 0.56 |
| 1959 | 1,222 | #222 | 0.57 |
| 1958 | 1,209 | #218 | 0.57 |
| 1957 | 1,259 | #214 | 0.58 |
| 1956 | 1,248 | #209 | 0.59 |
| 1955 | 1,055 | #222 | 0.51 |
| 1954 | 1,045 | #214 | 0.51 |
| 1953 | 926 | #220 | 0.47 |
| 1952 | 901 | #220 | 0.46 |
| 1951 | 837 | #227 | 0.44 |
| 1950 | 830 | #222 | 0.46 |
| 1949 | 744 | #238 | 0.42 |
| 1948 | 796 | #228 | 0.45 |
| 1947 | 799 | #227 | 0.44 |
| 1946 | 786 | #216 | 0.48 |
| 1945 | 563 | #237 | 0.42 |
| 1944 | 526 | #254 | 0.39 |
| 1943 | 588 | #241 | 0.41 |
| 1942 | 643 | #224 | 0.47 |
| 1941 | 539 | #235 | 0.44 |
| 1940 | 547 | #227 | 0.47 |
| 1939 | 555 | #218 | 0.50 |
| 1938 | 515 | #232 | 0.46 |
| 1937 | 521 | #227 | 0.49 |
| 1936 | 461 | #244 | 0.44 |
| 1935 | 457 | #254 | 0.44 |
| 1934 | 425 | #263 | 0.41 |
| 1933 | 442 | #247 | 0.45 |
| 1932 | 471 | #245 | 0.45 |
| 1931 | 502 | #233 | 0.48 |
| 1930 | 474 | #256 | 0.43 |
| 1929 | 520 | #237 | 0.48 |
| 1928 | 546 | #237 | 0.49 |
| 1927 | 532 | #245 | 0.47 |
| 1926 | 533 | #243 | 0.48 |
| 1925 | 516 | #251 | 0.46 |
| 1924 | 594 | #226 | 0.52 |
| 1923 | 536 | #243 | 0.49 |
| 1922 | 599 | #223 | 0.55 |
| 1921 | 558 | #236 | 0.51 |
| 1920 | 571 | #224 | 0.54 |
| 1919 | 487 | #239 | 0.50 |
| 1918 | 505 | #237 | 0.50 |
| 1917 | 487 | #226 | 0.53 |
| 1916 | 471 | #226 | 0.53 |
| 1915 | 458 | #223 | 0.54 |
| 1914 | 395 | #207 | 0.60 |
| 1913 | 303 | #213 | 0.59 |
| 1912 | 227 | #229 | 0.53 |
| 1911 | 96 | #265 | 0.42 |
| 1910 | 89 | #256 | 0.46 |
| 1909 | 69 | #265 | 0.42 |
| 1908 | 70 | #253 | 0.45 |
| 1907 | 71 | #248 | 0.48 |
| 1906 | 65 | #242 | 0.49 |
| 1905 | 59 | #254 | 0.45 |
| 1904 | 61 | #240 | 0.48 |
| 1903 | 59 | #234 | 0.49 |
| 1902 | 50 | #262 | 0.41 |
| 1901 | 51 | #242 | 0.48 |
| 1900 | 61 | #262 | 0.41 |
| 1899 | 47 | #244 | 0.44 |
| 1898 | 55 | #234 | 0.45 |
| 1897 | 50 | #245 | 0.44 |
| 1896 | 59 | #235 | 0.49 |
| 1895 | 56 | #235 | 0.48 |
| 1894 | 59 | #222 | 0.51 |
| 1893 | 47 | #256 | 0.42 |
| 1892 | 69 | #210 | 0.57 |
| 1891 | 53 | #219 | 0.52 |
| 1890 | 52 | #230 | 0.47 |
| 1889 | 37 | #275 | 0.33 |
| 1888 | 52 | #241 | 0.43 |
| 1887 | 47 | #232 | 0.46 |
| 1886 | 51 | #234 | 0.46 |
| 1885 | 46 | #244 | 0.43 |
| 1884 | 57 | #218 | 0.50 |
| 1883 | 50 | #217 | 0.48 |
| 1882 | 66 | #194 | 0.58 |
| 1881 | 40 | #246 | 0.40 |
| 1880 | 52 | #225 | 0.47 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Byron a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Byron has been given almost only to boys: 303 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Byron: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Byron, and how old are they?
56,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 82,541 Americans ever recorded as Byron. The median Byron alive today is 48 years old; half are between 31 and 63.
The 2020 Census counted 57,834 people named Byron (94 women and girls, 57,740 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 58,629 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,890 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 13,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 14,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 13,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 8,470 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,490 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Byron born?
The states with the most babies named Byron are California, Texas and Illinois, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,727 | #1,125 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 7,540 | #1,017 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 4,176 | #1,318 | 1.0× |
| Louisiana | 4,089 | #792 | 2.5× |
| New York | 3,149 | #803 | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 3,028 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Florida | 3,014 | #1,018 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,931 | #860 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 2,720 | #1,007 | 1.2× |
| Missouri | 2,571 | #656 | 1.3× |
Where Byron is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Byron is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Byron with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 101,800 babies since 1880, Byron is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 233 of their 259 babies (90%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Byron
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Byron and names like it
- Compare Byron and BryonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sByron peaked in 1964.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Byron since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Byron: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1964The year the most babies were named Byron.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Byron alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with BMost given first.