Boys' name · since 1913
Forbes
Since 1913, U.S. Social Security records show 242 babies named Forbes, peaking in 1918. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #11,857 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #8,974 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 242
- born since 1913
- 1910s
- peak decade
242 babies have been named Forbes since 1913, making it today's #8974 boys' name.
Forbes has 242 recorded births among boys since 1913, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #8974 as of the latest data, more common than 36% of boys, busiest in the 1910s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1913 to 2025.
- #11,857 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #8,974 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 242 born since 1913
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Forbes ranks #11,857 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,974 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 242 born since 1913, peaking in the 1910s.
- #11,857 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #8,974 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 242
- born since 1913
- 1910s
- peak decade
Forbes's 242 recorded births place it above 73.9% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Forbes compares
242 41st percentile among 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
Forbes's all-time total is 34% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Forbes | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 242 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 12 | 34 | 22,252 |
Forbes's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Forbes's full recorded timeline at 1944, 47% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 53% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1913, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 12 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Forbes popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1913–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 12
- Annual births at peak, across 113 years of records
Forbes by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (56 births, 23% of the file).
1910s was Forbes's strongest decade.
56 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Forbes births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s
1910s
56 births
- 1920s
1920s
46 births
- 1930s
1930s
27 births
- 1940s 18
1940s
18 births
- 1950s
1950s
23 births
- 1970s 5
1970s
5 births
- 1990s 11
1990s
11 births
- 2000s 7
2000s
7 births
- 2010s 17
2010s
17 births
- 2020s
2020s
32 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 56 births (23% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Forbes? ▼
Where does Forbes sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Forbes most popular? ▼
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What to do with Forbes's data
- Forbes's usage has stayed within range of its 1910s decade-level peak (56 total births) through the 2020s (32) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Forbes
Nearby Names Like Forbes
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Forbes
Compare Forbes side by side: Forbes vs Forrest Forbes vs Forest Forbes vs Ford
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Forbes
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Forbes: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~112 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, 1913–2025 (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 Forbes 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.