Gene
Gene was given to 63 boys in 2025, #2,238 among boys’ names; 133,874 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 54,400 Americans named Gene and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 57 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gene by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gene mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gene is “a diminutive of the male given name Eugene, also used as a formal male given name.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Genevieve”
/ˈd͡ʒiːn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gene?
#2,238 among boys’ names, 2025
Gene fell from #2,093 in 2015 to #2,238 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 35.0 to 36.9 per million.
3,311 babies in 1928, the peak
Gene peaked in 1928, when 3,311 babies were given it (3,088 boys, #62 among boys’ names). The 63 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63 | #2,238 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 83 | #1,908 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 76 | #2,006 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 74 | #2,045 | 0.04 |
| 2021 | 81 | #1,891 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 96 | #1,660 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 80 | #1,874 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 64 | #2,176 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 88 | #1,752 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 79 | #1,882 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 67 | #2,093 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 53 | #2,408 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 67 | #2,028 | 0.04 |
| 2012 | 71 | #1,993 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 61 | #2,155 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 65 | #2,073 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 81 | #1,831 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 79 | #1,846 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 85 | #1,749 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 95 | #1,554 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 93 | #1,527 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 109 | #1,343 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 106 | #1,310 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 99 | #1,333 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 129 | #1,101 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 123 | #1,130 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 160 | #921 | 0.08 |
| 1998 | 136 | #1,003 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 164 | #857 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 170 | #836 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 174 | #808 | 0.09 |
| 1994 | 209 | #721 | 0.11 |
| 1993 | 221 | #696 | 0.11 |
| 1992 | 252 | #650 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 305 | #579 | 0.15 |
| 1990 | 267 | #615 | 0.13 |
| 1989 | 291 | #568 | 0.15 |
| 1988 | 303 | #524 | 0.16 |
| 1987 | 324 | #495 | 0.17 |
| 1986 | 328 | #482 | 0.18 |
| 1985 | 344 | #464 | 0.19 |
| 1984 | 375 | #432 | 0.21 |
| 1983 | 374 | #423 | 0.21 |
| 1982 | 413 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1981 | 418 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1980 | 451 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1979 | 488 | #361 | 0.28 |
| 1978 | 453 | #361 | 0.28 |
| 1977 | 523 | #342 | 0.32 |
| 1976 | 464 | #355 | 0.30 |
| 1975 | 556 | #322 | 0.36 |
| 1974 | 570 | #316 | 0.36 |
| 1973 | 625 | #291 | 0.40 |
| 1972 | 742 | #264 | 0.46 |
| 1971 | 878 | #254 | 0.50 |
| 1970 | 934 | #250 | 0.50 |
| 1969 | 1,038 | #225 | 0.58 |
| 1968 | 1,072 | #216 | 0.62 |
| 1967 | 1,068 | #209 | 0.61 |
| 1966 | 1,145 | #205 | 0.64 |
| 1965 | 1,307 | #193 | 0.70 |
| 1964 | 1,530 | #180 | 0.77 |
| 1963 | 1,564 | #191 | 0.77 |
| 1962 | 1,514 | #202 | 0.73 |
| 1961 | 1,667 | #186 | 0.78 |
| 1960 | 1,796 | #174 | 0.84 |
| 1959 | 1,934 | #163 | 0.91 |
| 1958 | 1,815 | #168 | 0.86 |
| 1957 | 1,839 | #169 | 0.85 |
| 1956 | 1,754 | #170 | 0.83 |
| 1955 | 1,892 | #152 | 0.92 |
| 1954 | 1,900 | #151 | 0.93 |
| 1953 | 2,006 | #143 | 1.0 |
| 1952 | 2,073 | #138 | 1.1 |
| 1951 | 2,231 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1950 | 2,250 | #122 | 1.3 |
| 1949 | 2,444 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1948 | 2,542 | #111 | 1.4 |
| 1947 | 2,894 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1946 | 2,759 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1945 | 2,373 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1944 | 2,602 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1943 | 2,865 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 1942 | 3,127 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1941 | 3,073 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1940 | 3,060 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1939 | 3,014 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1938 | 3,149 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1937 | 3,165 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 1936 | 2,909 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1935 | 2,937 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1934 | 2,854 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1933 | 2,780 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1932 | 2,952 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1931 | 2,766 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1930 | 2,787 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1929 | 2,810 | #68 | 2.6 |
| 1928 | 3,088 | #62 | 2.8 |
| 1927 | 2,802 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1926 | 2,083 | #91 | 1.9 |
| 1925 | 1,579 | #112 | 1.4 |
| 1924 | 1,275 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1923 | 1,170 | #140 | 1.1 |
| 1922 | 1,089 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1921 | 873 | #170 | 0.79 |
| 1920 | 810 | #173 | 0.76 |
| 1919 | 676 | #191 | 0.69 |
| 1918 | 662 | #192 | 0.65 |
| 1917 | 542 | #208 | 0.59 |
| 1916 | 517 | #212 | 0.58 |
| 1915 | 493 | #212 | 0.58 |
| 1914 | 352 | #226 | 0.54 |
| 1913 | 248 | #237 | 0.48 |
| 1912 | 187 | #257 | 0.43 |
| 1911 | 102 | #254 | 0.45 |
| 1910 | 91 | #253 | 0.47 |
| 1909 | 81 | #244 | 0.49 |
| 1908 | 78 | #238 | 0.51 |
| 1907 | 65 | #261 | 0.44 |
| 1906 | 63 | #249 | 0.47 |
| 1905 | 44 | #303 | 0.33 |
| 1904 | 58 | #249 | 0.45 |
| 1903 | 45 | #280 | 0.38 |
| 1902 | 41 | #299 | 0.33 |
| 1901 | 31 | #318 | 0.29 |
| 1900 | 48 | #302 | 0.32 |
| 1899 | 22 | #397 | 0.21 |
| 1898 | 25 | #399 | 0.20 |
| 1897 | 19 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1896 | 29 | #359 | 0.24 |
| 1895 | 28 | #350 | 0.24 |
| 1894 | 19 | #444 | 0.16 |
| 1893 | 22 | #386 | 0.20 |
| 1892 | 23 | #398 | 0.19 |
| 1891 | 15 | #461 | 0.15 |
| 1890 | 17 | #445 | 0.15 |
| 1889 | 11 | #600 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 12 | #590 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 19 | #383 | 0.19 |
| 1886 | 13 | #523 | 0.12 |
| 1885 | 20 | #404 | 0.19 |
| 1884 | 11 | #583 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 10 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 14 | #502 | 0.12 |
| 1881 | 12 | #515 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 7 | #771 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gene a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 133,874 Americans recorded as Gene, 5% are girls and 95% boys. In 2025 it went to 63 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Gene: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gene, and how old are they?
54,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 133,874 Americans ever recorded as Gene. The median Gene alive today is 68 years old; half are between 57 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 64,474 people named Gene (2,557 women and girls, 61,917 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 67,122 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 10,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 25,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 11,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,650 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,660 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 990 |
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 Gene born?
The states with the most babies named Gene are Texas, California and Illinois, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8,317 | #2,374 | 1.1× |
| California | 8,277 | #1,628 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 7,263 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 7,088 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| New York | 6,238 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,754 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Missouri | 4,398 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 4,255 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 4,211 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 4,134 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Gene is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gene is most over-represented in South Dakota: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Gene with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 137,599 babies since 1880, Gene is the most given (97% of them). In 2025 it was given to 63 of their 110 babies (57%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gene
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 Gene and names like it
- Compare Gene and GenoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sGene peaked in 1928.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gene since 1910.
- The top names of 1928The year the most babies were named Gene.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gene alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.