General
General was last recorded in 2024, when 7 babies were given it; 4,025 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,080 Americans named General and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (27% of everyone recorded); the median is 60 years old and half are between 33 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of General by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is General?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #10,228, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
105 babies in 1918, the peak
General peaked in 1918, when 105 boys were given it, #597 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | #10,228 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 11 | #7,428 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 7 | #10,149 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 7 | #10,078 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 13 | #6,407 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 11 | #7,317 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 6 | #11,231 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 11 | #7,250 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 13 | #6,464 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 13 | #6,450 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10 | #7,741 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 17 | #5,241 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 9 | #8,384 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 15 | #5,756 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #9,066 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 8 | #9,266 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 10 | #7,876 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,414 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 8 | #8,980 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 8 | #8,537 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 10 | #7,156 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,755 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 8 | #7,785 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 9 | #7,013 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 5 | #10,465 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,553 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 5 | #9,495 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 8 | #6,588 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 8 | #6,567 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 13 | #4,534 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 8 | #6,320 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 7 | #6,771 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 13 | #4,246 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 9 | #4,922 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #4,685 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 6 | #6,200 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5,347 | under 0.01 |
| 1984 | 11 | #3,780 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 8 | #4,644 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 9 | #4,349 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,618 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 8 | #4,648 | under 0.01 |
| 1979 | 13 | #3,231 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 12 | #3,277 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 11 | #3,462 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 8 | #4,145 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 7 | #4,488 | under 0.01 |
| 1974 | 17 | #2,391 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 15 | #2,543 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 15 | #2,466 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 15 | #2,489 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 13 | #2,666 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 19 | #1,931 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 14 | #2,238 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 14 | #2,183 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 21 | #1,698 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 16 | #2,019 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 18 | #1,924 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 21 | #1,756 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 21 | #1,775 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 16 | #2,092 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 21 | #1,786 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 17 | #2,002 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 21 | #1,744 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 24 | #1,648 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 22 | #1,691 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 23 | #1,626 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 34 | #1,296 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 40 | #1,174 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 27 | #1,471 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 39 | #1,158 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 42 | #1,091 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 37 | #1,169 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 45 | #1,050 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 45 | #1,084 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 48 | #971 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 52 | #866 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 45 | #968 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 60 | #861 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 54 | #902 | 0.04 |
| 1941 | 34 | #1,139 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 53 | #864 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 45 | #937 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 49 | #901 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 42 | #973 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 50 | #865 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 51 | #887 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 59 | #815 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 60 | #790 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 51 | #905 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 53 | #881 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,027 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 45 | #1,018 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 57 | #884 | 0.05 |
| 1927 | 81 | #722 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 64 | #825 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 63 | #837 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 57 | #929 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 70 | #796 | 0.06 |
| 1922 | 79 | #743 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 91 | #679 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 91 | #668 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 99 | #610 | 0.10 |
| 1918 | 105 | #597 | 0.10 |
| 1917 | 81 | #665 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 63 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1915 | 60 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 41 | #845 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 39 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 39 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 16 | #843 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 32 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1909 | 33 | #440 | 0.20 |
| 1908 | 27 | #479 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 24 | #478 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 19 | #529 | 0.14 |
| 1905 | 24 | #454 | 0.18 |
| 1904 | 23 | #446 | 0.18 |
| 1903 | 15 | #586 | 0.13 |
| 1902 | 16 | #544 | 0.13 |
| 1901 | 15 | #513 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 33 | #387 | 0.22 |
| 1899 | 28 | #340 | 0.26 |
| 1898 | 38 | #309 | 0.31 |
| 1897 | 18 | #463 | 0.16 |
| 1896 | 35 | #318 | 0.29 |
| 1895 | 20 | #444 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 26 | #361 | 0.22 |
| 1893 | 29 | #325 | 0.26 |
| 1892 | 33 | #322 | 0.27 |
| 1891 | 27 | #327 | 0.27 |
| 1890 | 24 | #363 | 0.22 |
| 1889 | 34 | #290 | 0.31 |
| 1888 | 31 | #327 | 0.26 |
| 1887 | 27 | #322 | 0.27 |
| 1886 | 23 | #360 | 0.21 |
| 1885 | 36 | #280 | 0.33 |
| 1884 | 25 | #353 | 0.22 |
| 1883 | 25 | #334 | 0.24 |
| 1882 | 33 | #301 | 0.29 |
| 1881 | 24 | #337 | 0.24 |
| 1880 | 32 | #295 | 0.29 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is General a boy’s or a girl’s name?
General has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named General: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named General, and how old are they?
1,080 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 27% of the 4,025 Americans ever recorded as General. The median General alive today is 60 years old; half are between 33 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 1,044 people named General (17 women and girls, 1,027 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,260 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 173 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 352 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 191 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 120 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 119 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 125 |
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 General born?
The states with the most babies named General are Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, with 53% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 280 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| Alabama | 276 | not ranked | 3.5× |
| North Carolina | 199 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Kentucky | 122 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| South Carolina | 115 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Texas | 102 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Tennessee | 84 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Arkansas | 71 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Mississippi | 63 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Virginia | 40 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where General is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, General is most over-represented in Alabama: since 1910 it was given 3.5 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 General 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 General
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 General and names like it
- Compare General and CiceroBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sGeneral peaked in 1918.
- Georgia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named General since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named General.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named General alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.