Cruz
Cruz was given to 1,025 boys in 2025, #331 among boys’ names; 35,024 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 30,300 Americans named Cruz and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 14 years old and half are between 7 and 26.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cruz by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cruz mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Cruz is “a male given name” Its etymology gives the sense “cross” (cruz).
From cruz (“cross”), in the religious sense, and as a topographic surname.
/ˈkɾuθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cruz?
#331 among boys’ names, 2025
Cruz fell from #324 in 2015 to #331 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 0.56 to 0.60 per 1,000.
1,278 babies in 2013, the peak
Cruz peaked in 2013, when 1,278 babies were given it (1,250 boys, #279 among boys’ names). The 1,040 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 81% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #7,213 | 1,025 | #331 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,692 | 1,115 | #303 |
| 2023 | 19 | #6,218 | 1,015 | #329 |
| 2022 | 28 | #4,819 | 1,066 | #315 |
| 2021 | 33 | #4,261 | 1,117 | #297 |
| 2020 | 24 | #5,193 | 1,098 | #303 |
| 2019 | 23 | #5,475 | 1,115 | #304 |
| 2018 | 25 | #5,196 | 1,022 | #326 |
| 2017 | 26 | #5,082 | 970 | #347 |
| 2016 | 22 | #5,835 | 1,015 | #341 |
Every recorded year (132)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 27 | #5,015 | 1,065 | #324 |
| 2014 | 30 | #4,680 | 1,224 | #290 |
| 2013 | 28 | #4,927 | 1,250 | #279 |
| 2012 | 32 | #4,515 | 1,232 | #284 |
| 2011 | 29 | #4,832 | 1,098 | #300 |
| 2010 | 22 | #6,019 | 991 | #321 |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,869 | 906 | #346 |
| 2008 | 28 | #5,172 | 846 | #367 |
| 2007 | 28 | #5,127 | 672 | #429 |
| 2006 | 20 | #6,420 | 524 | #494 |
| 2005 | 19 | #6,327 | 477 | #516 |
| 2004 | 27 | #4,841 | 406 | #561 |
| 2003 | 16 | #6,953 | 359 | #598 |
| 2002 | 35 | #3,742 | 302 | #642 |
| 2001 | 27 | #4,471 | 333 | #596 |
| 2000 | 19 | #5,757 | 282 | #643 |
| 1999 | 25 | #4,470 | 243 | #689 |
| 1998 | 38 | #3,238 | 261 | #660 |
| 1997 | 28 | #3,915 | 229 | #695 |
| 1996 | 23 | #4,472 | 219 | #716 |
| 1995 | 32 | #3,428 | 227 | #699 |
| 1994 | 22 | #4,552 | 208 | #723 |
| 1993 | 28 | #3,793 | 181 | #784 |
| 1992 | 27 | #3,884 | 169 | #800 |
| 1991 | 18 | #5,216 | 189 | #736 |
| 1990 | 21 | #4,546 | 200 | #716 |
| 1989 | 17 | #5,092 | 206 | #688 |
| 1988 | 22 | #4,040 | 173 | #711 |
| 1987 | 15 | #5,117 | 168 | #705 |
| 1986 | 19 | #4,219 | 152 | #733 |
| 1985 | 29 | #3,101 | 120 | #811 |
| 1984 | 32 | #2,790 | 104 | #863 |
| 1983 | 26 | #3,168 | 94 | #909 |
| 1982 | 31 | #2,910 | 102 | #886 |
| 1981 | 34 | #2,669 | 90 | #947 |
| 1980 | 31 | #2,882 | 90 | #945 |
| 1979 | 24 | #3,358 | 78 | #1,006 |
| 1978 | 22 | #3,411 | 115 | #792 |
| 1977 | 19 | #3,783 | 83 | #933 |
| 1976 | 27 | #2,808 | 81 | #929 |
| 1975 | 32 | #2,465 | 71 | #972 |
| 1974 | 26 | #2,772 | 85 | #867 |
| 1973 | 27 | #2,642 | 70 | #964 |
| 1972 | 30 | #2,404 | 74 | #929 |
| 1971 | 29 | #2,551 | 63 | #1,026 |
| 1970 | 31 | #2,406 | 68 | #982 |
| 1969 | 24 | #2,716 | 87 | #829 |
| 1968 | 28 | #2,309 | 75 | #840 |
| 1967 | 28 | #2,282 | 59 | #943 |
| 1966 | 33 | #2,026 | 76 | #835 |
| 1965 | 28 | #2,258 | 64 | #926 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,983 | 85 | #817 |
| 1963 | 34 | #2,025 | 72 | #880 |
| 1962 | 31 | #2,121 | 77 | #862 |
| 1961 | 22 | #2,623 | 82 | #847 |
| 1960 | 47 | #1,640 | 82 | #834 |
| 1959 | 35 | #1,884 | 84 | #829 |
| 1958 | 52 | #1,481 | 96 | #756 |
| 1957 | 53 | #1,462 | 79 | #845 |
| 1956 | 54 | #1,437 | 87 | #796 |
| 1955 | 39 | #1,645 | 77 | #836 |
| 1954 | 42 | #1,562 | 71 | #870 |
| 1953 | 46 | #1,442 | 80 | #800 |
| 1952 | 33 | #1,715 | 87 | #755 |
| 1951 | 51 | #1,305 | 85 | #759 |
| 1950 | 47 | #1,333 | 87 | #736 |
| 1949 | 56 | #1,211 | 100 | #683 |
| 1948 | 52 | #1,273 | 76 | #785 |
| 1947 | 45 | #1,379 | 79 | #772 |
| 1946 | 54 | #1,165 | 76 | #762 |
| 1945 | 40 | #1,265 | 59 | #809 |
| 1944 | 40 | #1,259 | 61 | #803 |
| 1943 | 38 | #1,328 | 75 | #747 |
| 1942 | 46 | #1,166 | 77 | #734 |
| 1941 | 42 | #1,152 | 57 | #840 |
| 1940 | 53 | #981 | 70 | #731 |
| 1939 | 54 | #963 | 70 | #715 |
| 1938 | 53 | #976 | 77 | #690 |
| 1937 | 58 | #905 | 60 | #794 |
| 1936 | 62 | #862 | 58 | #807 |
| 1935 | 42 | #1,074 | 73 | #711 |
| 1934 | 47 | #1,010 | 53 | #863 |
| 1933 | 38 | #1,143 | 64 | #763 |
| 1932 | 43 | #1,086 | 67 | #772 |
| 1931 | 68 | #832 | 69 | #743 |
| 1930 | 61 | #938 | 64 | #811 |
| 1929 | 64 | #899 | 82 | #679 |
| 1928 | 72 | #855 | 77 | #732 |
| 1927 | 62 | #967 | 75 | #756 |
| 1926 | 52 | #1,035 | 84 | #692 |
| 1925 | 76 | #854 | 85 | #702 |
| 1924 | 53 | #1,070 | 68 | #819 |
| 1923 | 84 | #793 | 71 | #787 |
| 1922 | 48 | #1,108 | 62 | #872 |
| 1921 | 68 | #893 | 58 | #923 |
| 1920 | 56 | #982 | 71 | #794 |
| 1919 | 67 | #850 | 65 | #812 |
| 1918 | 47 | #1,066 | 41 | #1,066 |
| 1917 | 28 | #1,406 | 38 | #1,082 |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,595 | 28 | #1,271 |
| 1915 | 36 | #1,142 | 38 | #1,041 |
| 1914 | 31 | #1,084 | 25 | #1,163 |
| 1913 | 27 | #1,046 | 16 | #1,324 |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,316 | 20 | #1,033 |
| 1911 | 13 | #1,322 | 16 | #833 |
| 1910 | 17 | #1,079 | 9 | #1,133 |
| 1909 | 10 | #1,386 | under 5 | |
| 1908 | 9 | #1,460 | 5 | #1,426 |
| 1907 | 13 | #1,106 | 10 | #881 |
| 1906 | 11 | #1,170 | 5 | #1,283 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,569 | 12 | #710 |
| 1904 | 9 | #1,283 | under 5 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 5 | #1,156 | |
| 1902 | 10 | #1,148 | 5 | #1,181 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,371 | under 5 | |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,770 | under 5 | |
| 1899 | 6 | #1,442 | under 5 | |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,451 | under 5 | |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,649 | under 5 | |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,315 | under 5 | |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,022 | under 5 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 6 | #837 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Cruz a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 35,024 Americans recorded as Cruz, 12% are girls and 88% boys. Boys have outnumbered girls among babies named Cruz every year since 1937. In 2025 it went to 15 girls and 1,025 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Cruz: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cruz, and how old are they?
30,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 35,024 Americans ever recorded as Cruz. The median Cruz alive today is 14 years old; half are between 7 and 26.
The 2020 Census counted 33,737 people named Cruz (7,820 women and girls, 25,917 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 24,761 born in the U.S. The Census count is 36% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 483 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,660 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,860 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 9,450 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 14,300 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cruz born?
The states with the most babies named Cruz are California, Texas and Arizona, with 46% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Arizona is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 268 | #142 | 1.9× |
| Texas | 138 | #291 | 2.4× |
| Arizona | 55 | #163 | 2.4× |
| Florida | 36 | #500 | 0.5× |
| Washington | 29 | #261 | 1.0× |
| Colorado | 29 | #226 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 25 | #434 | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 25 | #429 | 0.5× |
| Missouri | 23 | #294 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 22 | #479 | 0.3× |
Where Cruz is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cruz is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 3.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cruz with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 37,747 babies since 1880, Cruz is the most given (93% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,040 of their 1,207 babies (86%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cruz
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cruz and names like it
- Compare Cruz and KruzBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sCruz peaked in 2013.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cruz since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Cruz: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2013The year the most babies were named Cruz.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Cruz alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with CMost given first.