Boys' name · since 2004

Cobain

Cobain has 205 recorded births since 2004 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2017 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#12,803 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,047 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
205
born since 2004
2010s
peak decade

205 babies have been named Cobain since 2004, making it today's #8047 boys' name.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cobain has been recorded 205 times among boys since 2004, currently ranked #8047 nationally and more common than 42% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2004 to 2025.

  • #12,803 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #8,047 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 205 born since 2004
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cobain ranks #12,803 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,047 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 205 born since 2004, peaking in the 2010s.

#12,803 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,047 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
205
born since 2004
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%42.2%
Cobain vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Cobain's 205 recorded births place it above 71.8% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

1 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

The state file records this name in 1 jurisdictions, led by California.

How Cobain compares

205 38th 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

Cobain's all-time total is 44% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Cobain Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 205 369 358,536
Peak-year births 20 34 22,252

Cobain's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Cobain's full recorded timeline at 2015, 66% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 34% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 2004, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2017 peak of 20 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Cobain popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2004–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2017)
20
Annual births at peak, across 22 years of records
0510152025 20042008201120142017202020232025 10

Cobain by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (118 births, 58% of the file).

2010s was Cobain's strongest decade.

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

Cobain births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 118 births (58% of all-time use).

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

Cobain by state

Where Cobain concentrates geographically, total births since 2004

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Cobain
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
7 3.4%
California share of Cobain's total US births 3.4%

7 of 205 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Cobain?
Cobain has been given to 205 babies in the U.S. since 2004, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #12,803 of 45,481 among boys' names (total births, highest first). Among boys in 2025, it is #8,047 of 13,930. 20 babies were born in 2017, its single highest year.
Where does Cobain sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cobain ranks #12,803 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,047 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 Cobain most popular?
Cobain was most popular in the 2010s decade with 118 total births. The single peak year was 2017.
Where is Cobain most popular?
The top states for the name Cobain are California (7 births).
How long has the name Cobain been used?
Cobain has been recorded in Social Security data since 2004, spanning 22 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Cobain?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Coby, Cobe, Cobi, Cobey, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Cobain's data

  • Cobain's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (118 total births) through the 2020s (59) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • California records the most Cobains (7 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Cobain

Nearby Names Like Cobain

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

Names with a similar popularity rank to Cobain

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Cobain: 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, 2004–2025 (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 Cobain 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.