Total births
51
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.
- 51
- total births
- 1990–2023
- years on record
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 45%
- born in that 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.
- 51 total births
- 1990–2023 years on record
- 2000s peak decade
- 45% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
51 boys have been named Cotter since 1990, peaking in the 2000s, last recorded in 2023.
- 51
- total births
- 1990–2023
- years on record
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 45%
- born in that decade
2000s
Peak decade
45% of everyone ever named Cotter was born in this single decade.
1992
Single peak year
7 babies were named Cotter in 1992 - its busiest year on record.
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 at a glance
Last recorded 2023Peak year
1992
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1990
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
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
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? ▼
51 babies have been named Cotter since 1990. It was last recorded in 2023. The peak year was 1992 with 7 births.
When was Cotter most popular? ▼
Cotter was most popular in the 2000s decade with 23 total births. The single peak year was 1992.
How long has the name Cotter been used? ▼
Cotter has been recorded in Social Security data since 1990, spanning 34 years of data through 2023.
What names are similar to Cotter? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Coty, Cotton, Cote, Cottrell, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
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.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
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
Coty Boy
#9137 5,525 births
Cotton Boy
#8398 507 births
Cote Boy
163 births
Cottrell Boy
141 births
Cotey Boy
141 births
Compare Cotter side by side: Cotter vs Coty Cotter vs Cotton Cotter vs Cote
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of June 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).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Cotter: Baby Name Since 1990 - 51 Births, Peak 1992." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/cotter. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 June 2026.