Boys' name · since 1990
Cotter
51 babies named Cotter in U.S. Social Security records since 1990, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #22,006 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 51
- born since 1990
- 2000s
- peak decade
Cotter is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 51 have been recorded since 1990.
Cotter has 51 recorded births among boys since 1990, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1990 to 2023.
- #22,006 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 51 born since 1990
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cotter ranks #22,006 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 51 born since 1990, peaking in the 2000s.
- #22,006 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 51
- born since 1990
- 2000s
- peak decade
Cotter's 51 recorded births place it above 51.36% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Cotter's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Cotter's full recorded timeline at 2004, 57% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 43% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1990, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1992 peak of 7 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Cotter popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1990–2023
- Peak year (1992)
- 7
- Annual births at peak, across 34 years of records
Cotter by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (23 births, 45% of the file).
2000s was Cotter's strongest decade.
23 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 45% of all-time use.
Cotter births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1990s
1990s
17 births
- 2000s
2000s
23 births
- 2010s 5
2010s
5 births
- 2020s 6
2020s
6 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 23 births (45% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cotter? ▼
Where does Cotter sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cotter most popular? ▼
How long has the name Cotter been used? ▼
What names are similar to Cotter? ▼
What to do with Cotter's data
- Cotter's decade-level peak was the 2000s (23 total births); usage has since declined to 6 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cotter
Nearby Names Like Cotter
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cotter
Compare Cotter side by side: Cotter vs Coty Cotter vs Cotton Cotter vs Cote
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cotter: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1992)
Similar record span (~33 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, 1990–2023 (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 Cotter 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.