Ferdinand
Ferdinand was given to 24 boys in 2025, #4,293 among boys’ names; 8,909 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,720 Americans named Ferdinand and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (31% of everyone recorded); the median is 54 years old and half are between 32 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ferdinand by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ferdinand mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ferdinand is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, best known for a 13th century king of Spain, but seldom popular in English.”
/ˈfɝdn̩.ænd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ferdinand?
#4,293 among boys’ names, 2025
Ferdinand rose from #4,768 in 2015 to #4,293 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 10.4 to 14.1 per million.
259 babies in 1918, the peak
Ferdinand peaked in 1918, when 259 boys were given it, #363 among boys’ names. The 24 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 24 | #4,293 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 28 | #3,912 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 29 | #3,821 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 29 | #3,795 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 16 | #5,615 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 14 | #6,066 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 20 | #4,845 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 25 | #4,126 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 17 | #5,352 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 35 | #3,248 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 20 | #4,768 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 24 | #4,168 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 24 | #4,095 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 21 | #4,584 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 20 | #4,712 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 23 | #4,276 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 20 | #4,807 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 25 | #4,062 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 24 | #4,159 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 21 | #4,400 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 16 | #5,100 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 16 | #5,080 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 20 | #4,158 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 15 | #4,978 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 22 | #3,752 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 16 | #4,642 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 16 | #4,412 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 18 | #3,893 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 16 | #4,112 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 27 | #2,773 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 22 | #3,125 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 27 | #2,708 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,406 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 28 | #2,555 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 27 | #2,561 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 35 | #2,097 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 34 | #2,073 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 24 | #2,461 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 40 | #1,689 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 31 | #1,930 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 35 | #1,741 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 25 | #2,116 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 26 | #2,037 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 46 | #1,398 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 39 | #1,558 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 35 | #1,666 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 29 | #1,880 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 34 | #1,626 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 50 | #1,257 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 38 | #1,460 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 43 | #1,327 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 36 | #1,449 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 45 | #1,233 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 45 | #1,237 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 68 | #986 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 56 | #1,096 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 52 | #1,077 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 56 | #989 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 53 | #998 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 56 | #975 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 54 | #1,007 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 37 | #1,293 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 42 | #1,202 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 50 | #1,084 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 60 | #1,005 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 63 | #955 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 71 | #909 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 53 | #1,053 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 60 | #984 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 66 | #917 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 71 | #880 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 69 | #889 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 66 | #883 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 69 | #842 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 54 | #952 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 53 | #950 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 42 | #1,086 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 68 | #825 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 65 | #861 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 47 | #990 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 55 | #846 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 59 | #818 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 73 | #765 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 70 | #771 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 63 | #790 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 61 | #795 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 80 | #664 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 100 | #587 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 62 | #783 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 116 | #531 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 101 | #577 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 83 | #668 | 0.08 |
| 1933 | 93 | #603 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 109 | #566 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 109 | #563 | 0.10 |
| 1930 | 145 | #495 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 138 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1928 | 156 | #488 | 0.14 |
| 1927 | 156 | #484 | 0.14 |
| 1926 | 161 | #474 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 159 | #481 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 185 | #449 | 0.16 |
| 1923 | 198 | #432 | 0.18 |
| 1922 | 214 | #411 | 0.20 |
| 1921 | 222 | #409 | 0.20 |
| 1920 | 185 | #446 | 0.17 |
| 1919 | 205 | #407 | 0.21 |
| 1918 | 259 | #363 | 0.26 |
| 1917 | 236 | #362 | 0.26 |
| 1916 | 246 | #339 | 0.28 |
| 1915 | 245 | #336 | 0.29 |
| 1914 | 204 | #320 | 0.31 |
| 1913 | 127 | #372 | 0.25 |
| 1912 | 113 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1911 | 51 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 48 | #371 | 0.25 |
| 1909 | 38 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1908 | 35 | #400 | 0.23 |
| 1907 | 35 | #381 | 0.24 |
| 1906 | 34 | #357 | 0.26 |
| 1905 | 31 | #374 | 0.23 |
| 1904 | 36 | #338 | 0.28 |
| 1903 | 19 | #490 | 0.16 |
| 1902 | 32 | #350 | 0.26 |
| 1901 | 29 | #341 | 0.27 |
| 1900 | 41 | #340 | 0.27 |
| 1899 | 35 | #294 | 0.33 |
| 1898 | 30 | #356 | 0.24 |
| 1897 | 28 | #357 | 0.25 |
| 1896 | 40 | #290 | 0.33 |
| 1895 | 38 | #290 | 0.32 |
| 1894 | 44 | #263 | 0.38 |
| 1893 | 45 | #262 | 0.40 |
| 1892 | 33 | #321 | 0.27 |
| 1891 | 28 | #319 | 0.28 |
| 1890 | 33 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1889 | 34 | #289 | 0.31 |
| 1888 | 42 | #279 | 0.35 |
| 1887 | 43 | #245 | 0.42 |
| 1886 | 40 | #268 | 0.36 |
| 1885 | 36 | #278 | 0.33 |
| 1884 | 55 | #229 | 0.48 |
| 1883 | 30 | #301 | 0.29 |
| 1882 | 48 | #243 | 0.42 |
| 1881 | 23 | #342 | 0.23 |
| 1880 | 32 | #294 | 0.29 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ferdinand a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ferdinand has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Ferdinand: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ferdinand, and how old are they?
2,720 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 31% of the 8,909 Americans ever recorded as Ferdinand. The median Ferdinand alive today is 54 years old; half are between 32 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 6,930 people named Ferdinand (25 women and girls, 6,905 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,001 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.3 times 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 | 261 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 727 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 658 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 460 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 304 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 303 |
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 Ferdinand born?
The states with the most babies named Ferdinand are New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, with 54% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,503 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 493 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Louisiana | 478 | not ranked | 3.0× |
| New Jersey | 362 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 283 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| California | 224 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Wisconsin | 196 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 156 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 149 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 142 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Ferdinand is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ferdinand is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 3.0 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 Ferdinand 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 Ferdinand
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 Ferdinand and names like it
- Compare Ferdinand and EmilBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sFerdinand peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ferdinand since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Ferdinand.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ferdinand alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with FMost given first.