Boys' name · since 1904
Custer
124 babies named Custer in U.S. Social Security records since 1904, with the highest year being 1917. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #16,001 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 124
- born since 1904
- 1910s
- peak decade
Custer sits outside today's top ranks for boys, with 124 recorded since 1904.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Custer has been recorded 124 times among boys since 1904, though it is not among the currently most-used boys names, with its heaviest use in the 1910s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1904 to 1950.
- #16,001 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 124 born since 1904
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Custer ranks #16,001 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 124 born since 1904, peaking in the 1910s.
- #16,001 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 124
- born since 1904
- 1910s
- peak decade
Custer's 124 recorded births place it above 64.73% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 1 jurisdictions, led by Kentucky.
Custer's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Custer splits its recorded history at 1921: 49% of all births land in the more recent half, 51% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1904 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1917 peak of 15 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Custer popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1904–1950
- Peak year (1917)
- 15
- Annual births at peak, across 47 years of records
No longer in the modern top-1000, last recorded 1950.
124 total births across 47 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1917 with 15 births in a single year.
Custer by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (58 births, 47% of the file).
1910s was Custer's strongest decade.
58 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 47% of all-time use.
Custer births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1900s 5
1900s
5 births
- 1910s
1910s
58 births
- 1920s
1920s
49 births
- 1930s 7
1930s
7 births
- 1950s 5
1950s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 58 births (47% of all-time use).
Custer decade highlights
- Peak decade 58 births
- Runner-up 49 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
Custer by state
Where Custer concentrates geographically, total births since 1904
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Kentucky | | 5 | 4.0% |
5 of 124 births nationwide.
Top 5 states
- Kentucky 4.0% of nationwide
Recorded in 1 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
Kentucky accounts for 4.0% of all recorded births nationwide - a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Custer's data
- Custer's decade-level peak was the 1910s (58 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1950s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Kentucky records the most Custers (5 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Kentucky names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Custer
Nearby Names Like Custer
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Custer
Compare Custer side by side: Custer vs Custodio
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Custer: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1917)
Similar record span (~46 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, 1904–1950 (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 Custer 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.
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