Foster
Foster was given to 264 boys in 2025, #901 among boys’ names; 13,408 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,400 Americans named Foster and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 8 and 45.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Foster by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Foster mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Foster is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
English surname, reduced from Forster; also from the noun foster.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Foster?
#901 among boys’ names, 2025
Foster rose from #1,033 in 2015 to #901 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.10 to 0.15 per 1,000.
278 babies in 2025, the peak
Foster peaked in 2025, when 278 babies were given it (264 boys, #901 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 202 boys.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 264 | #901 | 0.15 |
| 2024 | 202 | #1,078 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 232 | #966 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 213 | #1,038 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 217 | #1,011 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 226 | #962 | 0.13 |
| 2019 | 227 | #945 | 0.13 |
| 2018 | 184 | #1,077 | 0.10 |
| 2017 | 223 | #937 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 214 | #964 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 196 | #1,033 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 209 | #991 | 0.11 |
| 2013 | 213 | #937 | 0.11 |
| 2012 | 200 | #994 | 0.11 |
| 2011 | 102 | #1,550 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 126 | #1,353 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 116 | #1,446 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 87 | #1,745 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 93 | #1,653 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 99 | #1,521 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 84 | #1,620 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 111 | #1,327 | 0.06 |
| 2003 | 95 | #1,401 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 107 | #1,271 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 91 | #1,383 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 98 | #1,315 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 113 | #1,157 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 106 | #1,169 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 113 | #1,116 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 81 | #1,338 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 109 | #1,079 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 93 | #1,192 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 74 | #1,321 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 58 | #1,526 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 52 | #1,613 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 50 | #1,635 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 40 | #1,862 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 41 | #1,712 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 41 | #1,666 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 27 | #2,114 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 43 | #1,528 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 32 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 35 | #1,665 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 36 | #1,658 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 35 | #1,673 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 31 | #1,827 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 41 | #1,472 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 33 | #1,669 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 46 | #1,346 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 37 | #1,476 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 42 | #1,349 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 28 | #1,715 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 35 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 27 | #1,697 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 29 | #1,645 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 41 | #1,303 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 26 | #1,617 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 45 | #1,122 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 41 | #1,167 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 34 | #1,313 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 48 | #1,073 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 54 | #1,030 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 42 | #1,203 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 58 | #1,008 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 75 | #886 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 53 | #1,060 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 69 | #921 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 67 | #930 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 73 | #885 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 86 | #803 | 0.04 |
| 1955 | 73 | #865 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 62 | #941 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 73 | #841 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 81 | #780 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 83 | #768 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 90 | #721 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 107 | #663 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 117 | #626 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 122 | #616 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 88 | #691 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 106 | #586 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 107 | #594 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 119 | #582 | 0.08 |
| 1942 | 116 | #577 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 93 | #632 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 90 | #627 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 86 | #639 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 108 | #562 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 102 | #570 | 0.10 |
| 1936 | 86 | #628 | 0.08 |
| 1935 | 117 | #534 | 0.11 |
| 1934 | 111 | #561 | 0.11 |
| 1933 | 100 | #579 | 0.10 |
| 1932 | 99 | #593 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 111 | #557 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 121 | #548 | 0.11 |
| 1929 | 117 | #543 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 110 | #590 | 0.10 |
| 1927 | 155 | #488 | 0.14 |
| 1926 | 167 | #465 | 0.15 |
| 1925 | 159 | #482 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 171 | #472 | 0.15 |
| 1923 | 176 | #462 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 189 | #443 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 199 | #432 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 201 | #418 | 0.19 |
| 1919 | 188 | #430 | 0.19 |
| 1918 | 212 | #406 | 0.21 |
| 1917 | 177 | #426 | 0.19 |
| 1916 | 204 | #387 | 0.23 |
| 1915 | 166 | #419 | 0.20 |
| 1914 | 138 | #405 | 0.21 |
| 1913 | 122 | #383 | 0.24 |
| 1912 | 96 | #391 | 0.22 |
| 1911 | 61 | #353 | 0.27 |
| 1910 | 42 | #417 | 0.22 |
| 1909 | 36 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1908 | 41 | #357 | 0.27 |
| 1907 | 29 | #430 | 0.20 |
| 1906 | 41 | #322 | 0.31 |
| 1905 | 31 | #375 | 0.23 |
| 1904 | 42 | #303 | 0.33 |
| 1903 | 28 | #363 | 0.23 |
| 1902 | 30 | #360 | 0.24 |
| 1901 | 36 | #292 | 0.34 |
| 1900 | 29 | #420 | 0.19 |
| 1899 | 35 | #295 | 0.33 |
| 1898 | 37 | #318 | 0.30 |
| 1897 | 37 | #303 | 0.33 |
| 1896 | 43 | #280 | 0.36 |
| 1895 | 27 | #362 | 0.23 |
| 1894 | 40 | #282 | 0.35 |
| 1893 | 36 | #287 | 0.32 |
| 1892 | 41 | #284 | 0.34 |
| 1891 | 32 | #293 | 0.32 |
| 1890 | 23 | #373 | 0.21 |
| 1889 | 27 | #341 | 0.24 |
| 1888 | 26 | #363 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 17 | #414 | 0.17 |
| 1886 | 22 | #373 | 0.20 |
| 1885 | 25 | #348 | 0.23 |
| 1884 | 20 | #404 | 0.17 |
| 1883 | 32 | #289 | 0.31 |
| 1882 | 34 | #295 | 0.30 |
| 1881 | 22 | #353 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 16 | #448 | 0.14 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Foster a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 13,408 Americans recorded as Foster, 2% are girls and 98% boys. In 2025 it went to 14 girls and 264 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Foster: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Foster, and how old are they?
7,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 13,408 Americans ever recorded as Foster. The median Foster alive today is 19 years old; half are between 8 and 45.
The 2020 Census counted 7,033 people named Foster (493 women and girls, 6,540 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,516 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 365 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 940 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 514 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 818 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,760 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,000 |
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 Foster born?
The states with the most babies named Foster are Texas, Ohio and Indiana, with 25% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Indiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 27 | #918 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 14 | #656 | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 14 | #497 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 13 | #726 | 0.9× |
| Alabama | 12 | #432 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 12 | #653 | 0.5× |
| Louisiana | 11 | #433 | 1.6× |
| South Carolina | 10 | #480 | 1.4× |
| Tennessee | 9 | #738 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 9 | #1,287 | 0.4× |
Where Foster is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Foster is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Foster 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 Foster
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 Foster and names like it
- Compare Foster and NobleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sFoster peaked in 2025.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Foster since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Foster: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Foster.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Foster alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with FMost given first.