Boys' name · since 1880
Dan
Dan has 106,554 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1960 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #300 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,959 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 106,554
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Dan currently ranks #1959 among boys' names in America, with 106,554 babies recorded since 1880.
Dan has 106,554 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1959 as of the latest data, more common than 86% of boys, 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 1880 to 2025.
- #300 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,959 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 106,554 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dan ranks #300 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,959 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 106,554 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #300 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,959 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 106,554
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Dan's 106,554 recorded births place it above 99.34% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Dan compares
106,554 Top 3% higher than 97% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Dan's all-time total is 289x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dan | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 106,554 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 3,696 | 34 | 22,252 |
Dan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Dan splits its recorded history at 1953: 52% of all births land in the more recent half, 48% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 2021 (78 births) -- compare that against the 1960 peak of 3,696 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Dan popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1960)
- 3,696
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Dan popularity over time - girls
576 total births recorded since 1906 (Dan as girls' name)
Dan by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (26,009 births, 24% of the file).
1950s was Dan's strongest decade.
26,009 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Dan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,402
1880s
1,402 births
- 1890s 1,274
1890s
1,274 births
- 1900s 1,499
1900s
1,499 births
- 1910s 4,737
1910s
4,737 births
- 1920s 8,100
1920s
8,100 births
- 1930s 9,629
1930s
9,629 births
- 1940s
1940s
18,017 births
- 1950s
1950s
26,009 births
- 1960s
1960s
22,709 births
- 1970s 5,550
1970s
5,550 births
- 1980s 2,808
1980s
2,808 births
- 1990s 1,860
1990s
1,860 births
- 2000s 1,440
2000s
1,440 births
- 2010s 1,008
2010s
1,008 births
- 2020s 512
2020s
512 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 26,009 births (24% of all-time use).
How Dan compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Dan's total volume
Dan by state
Where Dan concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 11,583 | 10.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 7,212 | 6.8% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 6,608 | 6.2% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 5,785 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 5,704 | 5.4% |
| #6 | Washington | | 3,576 | 3.4% |
| #7 | New York | | 3,191 | 3.0% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 3,116 | 2.9% |
11,583 of 106,554 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Dan appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Dan's data
- Dan's decade-level peak was the 1950s (26,009 total births); usage has since declined to 512 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Dans (11,583 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dan
Nearby Names Like Dan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dan
Compare Dan side by side: Dan vs Daniel Dan vs Danny Dan vs Dana
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dan
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1960)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Dan 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.