Gerald — #1167 US boys' name
448,793 babies named Gerald in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1942. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 92% of names given to boys today.
23% of everyone ever named Gerald was born in this single decade.
11,483 babies were named Gerald in 1942 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Gerald
The Social Security Administration has registered 448,793 babies named Gerald between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Gerald currently holds the #1167 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1942, when 11,483 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Gerald performed strongest in the 1940s, accumulating 103,342 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Gerald shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 39,016 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Michigan and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Gerald in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Gerald 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 448,793 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.
Gerald at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Gerald popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1942)
- 11,483
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1167 among boys.
448,793 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1942 with 11,483 births in a single year.
Gerald popularity over time — girls
2,385 total births recorded since 1910 (Gerald as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Gerald accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Gerald by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- 103,342 births that decade — 23% of Gerald's all-time total
Gerald decade highlights
- Peak decade 103,342 births
- Runner-up 82,818 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1940s was Gerald's strongest decade
103,342 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 23% of all-time use.
Gerald by state
Where Gerald concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 39,016 | 8.7% |
| #2 | Michigan | | 35,378 | 7.9% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 32,449 | 7.2% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 28,070 | 6.3% |
| #5 | California | | 25,374 | 5.7% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 24,035 | 5.4% |
| #7 | Wisconsin | | 19,363 | 4.3% |
| #8 | Texas | | 17,061 | 3.8% |
39,016 of 448,793 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 8.7% of nationwide
- Michigan 7.9% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 7.2% of nationwide
- Illinois 6.3% of nationwide
- California 5.7% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 8.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Gerald appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Gerald
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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, 1880–2024 (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.