Boys' name · since 1880
Foster
13,122 babies named Foster in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,043 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #901 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,122
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
13,122 babies have been named Foster since 1880, making it today's #901 boys' name.
Social Security Administration records show Foster recorded 13,122 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #901 nationally today, ahead of 94% of boys, peaking in the 2010s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,043 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #901 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 13,122 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Foster ranks #1,043 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #901 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 13,122 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #1,043 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #901 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,122
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Foster's 13,122 recorded births place it above 97.7% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
37 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Foster compares
13,122 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Foster's all-time total is 36x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Foster | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 13,122 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 264 | 34 | 22,252 |
Foster's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Foster's full recorded timeline at 1953, 52% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 48% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 16 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2025 peak of 264 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Foster popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 264
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Foster popularity over time - girls
286 total births recorded since 1914 (Foster as girls' name)
Foster by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (1,894 births, 14% of the file).
2010s was Foster's strongest decade.
1,894 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Foster births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 241
1880s
241 births
- 1890s 351
1890s
351 births
- 1900s 343
1900s
343 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,406 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,644 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,041 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,065 births
- 1950s 757
1950s
757 births
- 1960s 476
1960s
476 births
- 1970s 359
1970s
359 births
- 1980s 361
1980s
361 births
- 1990s
1990s
849 births
- 2000s
2000s
981 births
- 2010s
2010s
1,894 births
- 2020s
2020s
1,354 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 1,894 births (14% of all-time use).
How Foster 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 Foster's total volume
Foster by state
Where Foster concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 781 | 6.0% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 613 | 4.7% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 482 | 3.7% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 411 | 3.1% |
| #5 | New York | | 407 | 3.1% |
| #6 | Alabama | | 389 | 3.0% |
| #7 | Kentucky | | 380 | 2.9% |
| #8 | Louisiana | | 373 | 2.8% |
781 of 13,122 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 37 reporting states.
Foster appears in 37 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Foster? ▼
Where does Foster sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Foster most popular? ▼
Where is Foster most popular? ▼
How long has the name Foster been used? ▼
What to do with Foster's data
- Foster's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (1,894 total births) through the 2020s (1,354) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Fosters (781 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Foster
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Foster
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Foster: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
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 Foster 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.