Unisex name · since 1995

Chicago

Chicago has 121 recorded births since 1995 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2023 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#16,158 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#7,424 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
121
born since 1995
2020s
peak decade

Chicago currently ranks #7424 among unisex names in America, with 121 babies recorded since 1995.

Chicago has 121 recorded births among boys since 1995, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #7424 as of the latest data, more common than 47% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1995 to 2025.

  • #16,158 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #7,424 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 121 born since 1995
  • 2020s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chicago ranks #16,158 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,424 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 121 born since 1995, peaking in the 2020s.

#16,158 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#7,424 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
121
born since 1995
2020s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%46.7%
Chicago vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Chicago's 121 recorded births place it above 64.39% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

How Chicago compares

121 29th percentile among 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

Chicago's all-time total is 67% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Chicago Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 121 369 358,536
Peak-year births 14 34 22,252

Chicago's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Chicago's SSA record in two at 2019 and the more recent half accounts for 62% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 38%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 2005, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2023 peak of 14, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Chicago popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1995–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2023)
14
Annual births at peak, across 31 years of records
46810121416 19951998200820182020202220242025 11

Chicago popularity over time - girls

54 total births recorded since 2018 (Chicago as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 54 births
468101214 201820212022202320242025 12

Chicago by decade

2020s is the heaviest window (70 births, 58% of the file).

2020s was Chicago's strongest decade.

70 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 58% of all-time use.

Chicago births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2020s at 70 births (58% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Chicago?
Since 1995, Social Security records show 121 babies named Chicago. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #16,158 of 45,481 boys' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #7,424 of 13,930 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 2023, with 14 births.
Where does Chicago sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chicago ranks #16,158 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,424 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Chicago most popular?
Chicago was most popular in the 2020s decade with 70 total births. The single peak year was 2023.
Is Chicago a unisex name?
Yes, Chicago is used for both boys and girls. As a boy's name it has 121 births, and as a girl's name it has 54 births.
How long has the name Chicago been used?
Records for Chicago go back to 1995, giving 31 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Chicago?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Chip, Chistopher, Chirstopher, Chico, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Chicago

Nearby Names Like Chicago

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chicago

Names with a similar popularity rank to Chicago

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Chicago: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1995–2025 (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 Chicago 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.