Boys' name · since 1917
Cranston
364 babies named Cranston in U.S. Social Security records since 1917, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #9,531 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 364
- born since 1917
- 1950s
- peak decade
Cranston sits outside today's top ranks for boys, with 364 recorded since 1917.
Cranston has 364 recorded births among boys since 1917, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1917 to 2010.
- #9,531 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 364 born since 1917
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cranston ranks #9,531 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 364 born since 1917, peaking in the 1950s.
- #9,531 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 364
- born since 1917
- 1950s
- peak decade
Cranston's 364 recorded births place it above 79.01% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Cranston's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Cranston splits its recorded history at 1961: 45% of all births land in the more recent half, 55% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1925 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1990 peak of 12 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Cranston popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1917–2010
- Peak year (1990)
- 12
- Annual births at peak, across 94 years of records
Cranston by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (83 births, 23% of the file).
1950s was Cranston's strongest decade.
83 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Cranston births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 14
1910s
14 births
- 1920s 26
1920s
26 births
- 1940s
1940s
65 births
- 1950s
1950s
83 births
- 1960s
1960s
63 births
- 1970s
1970s
36 births
- 1980s
1980s
36 births
- 1990s 25
1990s
25 births
- 2000s 11
2000s
11 births
- 2010s 5
2010s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 83 births (23% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Cranston's data
- Cranston's decade-level peak was the 1950s (83 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 2010s -- 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 Cranston
Nearby Names Like Cranston
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cranston
Compare Cranston side by side: Cranston vs Craig Cranston vs Crawford Cranston vs Crayton
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cranston: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1990)
Similar record span (~93 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, 1917–2010 (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 Cranston 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.