Unisex name · since 1973
Canaan
Canaan has 5,843 recorded births since 1973 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2016 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,619 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,045 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 5,843
- born since 1973
- 2010s
- peak decade
Canaan currently ranks #1045 among unisex names in America, with 5,843 babies recorded since 1973.
Canaan has 5,843 recorded births among boys since 1973, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1045 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1973 to 2025.
- #1,619 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,045 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 5,843 born since 1973
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Canaan ranks #1,619 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,045 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 5,843 born since 1973, peaking in the 2010s.
- #1,619 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,045 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 5,843
- born since 1973
- 2010s
- peak decade
Canaan's 5,843 recorded births place it above 96.43% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
33 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Canaan compares
5,843 Top 12% higher than 88% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Canaan's all-time total is 16x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Canaan | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 5,843 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 385 | 34 | 22,252 |
Canaan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Canaan's full recorded timeline at 1999, 85% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 15% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1973, with just 6 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2016 peak of 385 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Canaan popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1973–2025
- Peak year (2016)
- 385
- Annual births at peak, across 53 years of records
Canaan popularity over time - girls
324 total births recorded since 1980 (Canaan as girls' name)
Canaan by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (2,346 births, 40% of the file).
2010s was Canaan's strongest decade.
2,346 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 40% of all-time use.
Canaan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 82
1970s
82 births
- 1980s 217
1980s
217 births
- 1990s 635
1990s
635 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,257 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,346 births
- 2020s
2020s
1,306 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 2,346 births (40% of all-time use).
How Canaan compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Canaan's total volume
Canaan by state
Where Canaan concentrates geographically, total births since 1973
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 462 | 7.9% |
| #2 | Tennessee | | 351 | 6.0% |
| #3 | North Carolina | | 312 | 5.3% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 297 | 5.1% |
| #5 | California | | 293 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 220 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Florida | | 217 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Alabama | | 207 | 3.5% |
462 of 5,843 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 33 reporting states.
Canaan appears in 33 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Canaan's data
- Canaan's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (2,346 total births) through the 2020s (1,306) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Canaans (462 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Canaan
Nearby Names Like Canaan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Canaan
Compare Canaan side by side: Canaan vs Cannon Canaan vs Canyon Canaan vs Canon
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Canaan
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Canaan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2016)
Similar record span (~52 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1973–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Canaan draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.