US rank #1559 Boys' name Peak 1957 90,529 births

Guy — #1559 US boys' name

90,529 babies named Guy in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1957. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s24891890s24871900s19131910s66241920s98721930s75641940s89531950s191571960s153561970s62561980s36361990s23862000s17302010s15092020s597
#1559
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 89% of names given to boys today.

1950s
Peak decade

21% of everyone ever named Guy was born in this single decade.

1957
Single peak year

2,301 babies were named Guy in 1957 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Guy

The Social Security Administration has registered 90,529 babies named Guy between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Guy currently holds the #1559 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1957, when 2,301 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Guy performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 19,157 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Guy shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 6,837 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Guy in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Guy 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 90,529 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.

Guy at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

90,529

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1957

2,301 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#1,559

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Guy popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1957)
2,301
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
05001,0001,5002,0002,500 202420051986196719481929191018911880 239

Guy popularity over time — girls

470 total births recorded since 1890 (Guy as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 470 births
05101520 198219621953194519371928192019001890 6

Guy by decade

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

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
19,157 births that decade — 21% of Guy's all-time total
1880s24891890s24871900s19131910s66241920s98721930s75641940s89531950s191571960s153561970s62561980s36361990s23862000s17302010s15092020s597

Guy by state

Where Guy concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Guy
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
6,837 7.6%
#2 California
6,644 7.3%
#3 Pennsylvania
5,116 5.7%
#4 Texas
4,980 5.5%
#5 Illinois
3,911 4.3%
#6 Ohio
3,432 3.8%
#7 Michigan
2,942 3.2%
#8 New Jersey
2,389 2.6%
New York share of Guy's total US births 7.6%
Even split

6,837 of 90,529 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Guy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Guy?
90,529 babies have been named Guy since 1880. It currently ranks #1559 among boys. The peak year was 1957 with 2,301 births.
When was Guy most popular?
Guy was most popular in the 1950s decade with 19,157 total births. The single peak year was 1957.
Where is Guy most popular?
The top states for the name Guy are New York (6,837 births), California (6,644 births), Pennsylvania (5,116 births).
How long has the name Guy been used?
Guy has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Guy?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Guyton, Guye, Guyon, Guymon. 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, 1880–2024 (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.