Duke
Duke was given to 390 boys in 2025, #695 among boys’ names; 11,595 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,670 Americans named Duke and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 11 years old and half are between 7 and 34.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Duke by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Duke mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Duke is “a male given name from English; mostly US and rather rare.”
/duːk/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Duke?
#695 among boys’ names, 2025
Duke fell from #603 in 2015 to #695 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.24 to 0.23 per 1,000.
529 babies in 2018, the peak
Duke peaked in 2018, when 529 boys were given it, #533 among boys’ names. The 390 births of 2025 are 74% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 390 | #695 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 381 | #705 | 0.22 |
| 2023 | 395 | #683 | 0.23 |
| 2022 | 403 | #678 | 0.23 |
| 2021 | 419 | #652 | 0.24 |
| 2020 | 424 | #633 | 0.25 |
| 2019 | 522 | #541 | 0.29 |
| 2018 | 529 | #533 | 0.29 |
| 2017 | 523 | #541 | 0.28 |
| 2016 | 515 | #558 | 0.27 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 455 | #603 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 384 | #669 | 0.20 |
| 2013 | 323 | #722 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 160 | #1,147 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 147 | #1,201 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 141 | #1,247 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 89 | #1,732 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 104 | #1,548 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 96 | #1,615 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 89 | #1,621 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 75 | #1,756 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 62 | #1,955 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 74 | #1,675 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 59 | #1,896 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 53 | #2,009 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 55 | #1,896 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 54 | #1,830 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 49 | #1,964 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 59 | #1,673 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 44 | #1,992 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 55 | #1,650 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 63 | #1,495 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 75 | #1,310 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 65 | #1,415 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 43 | #1,836 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 59 | #1,466 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 50 | #1,588 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 63 | #1,295 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 56 | #1,319 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 33 | #1,847 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 37 | #1,680 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 36 | #1,637 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 44 | #1,432 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 43 | #1,465 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 41 | #1,505 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 47 | #1,383 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 70 | #1,062 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 36 | #1,578 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 36 | #1,549 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 43 | #1,359 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 44 | #1,308 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 52 | #1,140 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 62 | #1,025 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 57 | #1,073 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 75 | #944 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 78 | #905 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 75 | #881 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 62 | #921 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 73 | #837 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 84 | #795 | 0.05 |
| 1965 | 70 | #877 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 89 | #801 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 100 | #764 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 77 | #863 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 69 | #917 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 96 | #775 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 107 | #737 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 89 | #790 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 108 | #720 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 105 | #714 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 85 | #793 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 75 | #835 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 53 | #990 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 49 | #1,033 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 49 | #1,006 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 60 | #886 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 38 | #1,148 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 59 | #892 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 47 | #1,054 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 43 | #1,047 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 35 | #1,105 | 0.03 |
| 1944 | 28 | #1,262 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 46 | #986 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 42 | #1,040 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 46 | #943 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 45 | #955 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 41 | #996 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 46 | #929 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 46 | #925 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 38 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 22 | #1,463 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 28 | #1,277 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 31 | #1,185 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,666 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 40 | #1,068 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 33 | #1,241 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 22 | #1,577 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 40 | #1,113 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 45 | #1,046 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 43 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 45 | #1,025 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 35 | #1,229 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 27 | #1,437 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 41 | #1,112 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 31 | #1,335 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 33 | #1,259 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 41 | #1,067 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 39 | #1,099 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 40 | #1,042 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 37 | #1,063 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 35 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 17 | #1,506 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 19 | #1,180 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,037 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 15 | #867 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 13 | #883 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 11 | #910 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 13 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,393 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,288 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,129 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 8 | #906 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 7 | #954 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,093 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 11 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 8 | #802 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 9 | #760 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 9 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,140 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 7 | #902 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,127 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 6 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 6 | #989 | 0.05 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,010 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 7 | #830 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 8 | #765 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,004 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,007 | 0.04 |
| 1883 | 5 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1881 | 5 | #901 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 7 | #765 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Duke a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Duke has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 141 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Duke: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Duke, and how old are they?
9,670 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 11,595 Americans ever recorded as Duke. The median Duke alive today is 11 years old; half are between 7 and 34.
The 2020 Census counted 8,029 people named Duke (55 women and girls, 7,974 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 7,662 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 134 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 956 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 845 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 768 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,350 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,620 |
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 Duke born?
The states with the most babies named Duke are California, Texas and Florida, with 25% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 43 | #645 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 29 | #883 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 17 | #857 | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 14 | #651 | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | #638 | 0.3× |
| Arizona | 14 | #501 | 0.8× |
| New York | 12 | #1,008 | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 12 | #554 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 12 | #650 | 0.4× |
| Colorado | 12 | #475 | 0.9× |
Where Duke is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Duke is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 7.0 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 Duke with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Duke
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 Duke and names like it
- Compare Duke and PrinceBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sDuke peaked in 2018.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Duke since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Duke: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2018The year the most babies were named Duke.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Duke alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with DMost given first.