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
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Custer's 124 recorded births place it above 64.73% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

1 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

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

Last recorded 1950
Peak year (1917)
15
Annual births at peak, across 47 years of records
05101520 1904191519181923192719301950 5

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

births

What this shows Peak: 1910s at 58 births (47% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Custer by state

Where Custer concentrates geographically, total births since 1904

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Custer
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Kentucky
5 4.0%
Kentucky share of Custer's total US births 4.0%

5 of 124 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Custer?
124 babies have been named Custer since 1904. All-time, it sits at #16,001 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. It was last recorded in 1950. The peak year was 1917 with 15 births.
Where does Custer sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Custer ranks #16,001 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Custer most popular?
Custer was most popular in the 1910s decade with 58 total births. The single peak year was 1917.
Where is Custer most popular?
The top states for the name Custer are Kentucky (5 births).
How long has the name Custer been used?
Custer has been recorded in Social Security data since 1904, spanning 47 years of data through 1950.
What names are similar to Custer?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Custodio. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

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

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.

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.