Recorded 1880–1972 Boys' name Peak 1920 74 births

Friend — boys' name

74 babies named Friend in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s61910s131920s451930s51970s5
1920s
Peak decade

61% of everyone ever named Friend was born in this single decade.

1920
Single peak year

10 babies were named Friend in 1920 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Friend

The Social Security Administration has registered 74 babies named Friend between 1880 and 1972, spanning 93 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Friend currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1972. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 10 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Friend performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 45 births during that ten-year window. Across the 5 decades of recorded activity, Friend shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Friend in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 74 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Friend at a glance

Last recorded 1972

Total births

74

Since 1880

93 years of records

Peak year

1920

10 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1972

Active since

1880

Recorded for 93 years

Last year on file: 1972

Friend popularity over time

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

Last recorded 1972
Peak year (1920)
10
Annual births at peak — across 93 years of records
4681012 197219311928192719241923192219211920191919181880 6

Friend by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
45 births that decade — 61% of Friend's all-time total
1880s61910s131920s451930s51970s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Friend?
74 babies have been named Friend since 1880. It was last recorded in 1972. The peak year was 1920 with 10 births.
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.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–1972 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.