Boys' name · since 1880

Friend

Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 74 babies named Friend, peaking in 1920. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#19,434 of 45,481
all-time among boys
74
born since 1880
1920s
peak decade

Friend sits outside today's top ranks for boys, with 74 recorded since 1880.

Friend has 74 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 1972.

  • #19,434 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • 74 born since 1880
  • 1920s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Friend ranks #19,434 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 74 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.

#19,434 of 45,481
all-time among boys
74
born since 1880
1920s
peak decade
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Friend's 74 recorded births place it above 57.11% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

Friend's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Friend's full recorded timeline at 1923, 45% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 55% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1919, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1920 peak of 10 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Friend popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–1972

Last recorded 1972
Peak year (1920)
10
Annual births at peak, across 93 years of records
4681012 188019181919192019211922192319241927192819311972 5

Friend by decade

1920s is the heaviest window (45 births, 61% of the file).

1920s was Friend's strongest decade.

45 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 61% of all-time use.

Friend births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1920s at 45 births (61% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Friend? ▼
74 babies have been named Friend since 1880. All-time, it sits at #19,434 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. It was last recorded in 1972. The peak year was 1920 with 10 births.
Where does Friend sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Friend ranks #19,434 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Friend most popular? ▼
Friend was most popular in the 1920s decade with 45 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
How long has the name Friend been used? ▼
Friend has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 93 years of data through 1972.
What names are similar to Friend? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Fritz, Friedrich, Frisco, Friddie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Friend's data

  • Friend's decade-level peak was the 1920s (45 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1970s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Friend

Nearby Names Like Friend

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Friend

Fritz Boy
#2719 6,683 births
Friedrich Boy
#3768 652 births
Frisco Boy
174 births
Friddie Boy
49 births
Fritzgerald Boy
43 births

Compare Friend side by side: Friend vs Fritz Friend vs Friedrich Friend vs Frisco

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar number of total births

Ah
74 births · Peak 1915
Ingvald
74 births · Peak 1918
Efton
74 births · Peak 1919
Hicks
74 births · Peak 1919
Alcus
74 births · Peak 1926
Eldwin
74 births · Peak 1917
Garwood
74 births · Peak 1920
Vesper #8995
74 births · Peak 2024

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Friend: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1880–1972 (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 Friend 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.