Hansel
Hansel was given to 103 boys in 2025, #1,638 among boys’ names; 3,636 Americans have been recorded with it since 1905 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,480 Americans named Hansel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 14 years old and half are between 6 and 39.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Hansel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Hansel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Hansel is “an Anglicised spelling of the German given name Hänsel. English equivalent: Johnny.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Hansel?
#1,638 among boys’ names, 2025
Hansel rose from #1,721 in 2015 to #1,638 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 47.0 to 60.3 per million.
134 babies in 2021, the peak
Hansel peaked in 2021, when 134 boys were given it, #1,373 among boys’ names. The 103 births of 2025 are 77% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 103 | #1,638 | 60.3 |
| 2024 | 101 | #1,664 | 58.6 |
| 2023 | 98 | #1,713 | 57.3 |
| 2022 | 120 | #1,511 | 68.7 |
| 2021 | 134 | #1,373 | 76.6 |
| 2020 | 85 | #1,782 | 49.2 |
| 2019 | 77 | #1,922 | 42.9 |
| 2018 | 58 | #2,312 | 31.9 |
| 2017 | 78 | #1,872 | 42.1 |
| 2016 | 73 | #1,979 | 38.5 |
Every recorded year (115)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 90 | #1,721 | 47.0 |
| 2014 | 126 | #1,356 | 65.6 |
| 2013 | 98 | #1,582 | 51.8 |
| 2012 | 42 | #2,839 | 22.1 |
| 2011 | 21 | #4,559 | 11.1 |
| 2010 | 21 | #4,573 | 10.9 |
| 2009 | 30 | #3,586 | 15.1 |
| 2008 | 43 | #2,801 | 21.1 |
| 2007 | 29 | #3,630 | 14.0 |
| 2006 | 29 | #3,544 | 14.1 |
| 2005 | 28 | #3,476 | 14.0 |
| 2004 | 21 | #4,169 | 10.6 |
| 2003 | 18 | #4,494 | 9.1 |
| 2002 | 16 | #4,772 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 22 | #3,759 | 11.3 |
| 2000 | 25 | #3,348 | 12.7 |
| 1999 | 21 | #3,620 | 10.9 |
| 1998 | 19 | #3,749 | 9.9 |
| 1997 | 15 | #4,320 | 8.0 |
| 1996 | 22 | #3,235 | 11.6 |
| 1995 | 18 | #3,600 | 9.5 |
| 1994 | 22 | #3,154 | 11.4 |
| 1993 | 29 | #2,530 | 14.8 |
| 1992 | 36 | #2,138 | 18.0 |
| 1991 | 33 | #2,198 | 16.3 |
| 1990 | 31 | #2,272 | 15.1 |
| 1989 | 19 | #3,130 | 9.5 |
| 1988 | 30 | #2,099 | 15.7 |
| 1987 | 17 | #2,992 | 9.1 |
| 1986 | 20 | #2,629 | 10.9 |
| 1985 | 21 | #2,453 | 11.4 |
| 1984 | 20 | #2,468 | 11.1 |
| 1983 | 28 | #1,916 | 15.6 |
| 1982 | 20 | #2,458 | 11.0 |
| 1981 | 13 | #3,292 | 7.3 |
| 1980 | 21 | #2,392 | 11.8 |
| 1979 | 11 | #3,655 | 6.4 |
| 1978 | 11 | #3,485 | 6.7 |
| 1977 | 12 | #3,273 | 7.3 |
| 1976 | 9 | #3,830 | 5.7 |
| 1975 | 14 | #2,807 | 9.0 |
| 1974 | 14 | #2,717 | 8.9 |
| 1972 | 12 | #2,893 | 7.4 |
| 1971 | 22 | #1,946 | 12.4 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,786 | 6.5 |
| 1969 | 15 | #2,250 | 8.4 |
| 1968 | 15 | #2,141 | 8.6 |
| 1967 | 14 | #2,186 | 8.0 |
| 1966 | 10 | #2,693 | 5.6 |
| 1965 | 16 | #2,025 | 8.6 |
| 1964 | 11 | #2,589 | 5.5 |
| 1963 | 15 | #2,150 | 7.4 |
| 1962 | 14 | #2,222 | 6.8 |
| 1961 | 16 | #2,095 | 7.5 |
| 1960 | 22 | #1,742 | 10.3 |
| 1959 | 8 | #3,122 | 3.7 |
| 1958 | 18 | #1,922 | 8.5 |
| 1957 | 19 | #1,857 | 8.8 |
| 1956 | 11 | #2,549 | 5.2 |
| 1955 | 18 | #1,869 | 8.7 |
| 1954 | 16 | #1,994 | 7.8 |
| 1953 | 28 | #1,441 | 14.2 |
| 1952 | 25 | #1,529 | 12.9 |
| 1951 | 24 | #1,537 | 12.7 |
| 1950 | 12 | #2,257 | 6.7 |
| 1949 | 25 | #1,476 | 14.1 |
| 1948 | 17 | #1,847 | 9.7 |
| 1947 | 25 | #1,501 | 13.7 |
| 1946 | 22 | #1,533 | 13.5 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,553 | 14.1 |
| 1944 | 22 | #1,458 | 16.1 |
| 1943 | 26 | #1,381 | 18.2 |
| 1942 | 23 | #1,482 | 16.7 |
| 1941 | 19 | #1,614 | 15.5 |
| 1940 | 27 | #1,297 | 23.3 |
| 1939 | 19 | #1,551 | 17.2 |
| 1938 | 25 | #1,352 | 22.5 |
| 1937 | 25 | #1,354 | 23.4 |
| 1936 | 25 | #1,341 | 24.1 |
| 1935 | 30 | #1,232 | 28.8 |
| 1934 | 33 | #1,156 | 32.0 |
| 1933 | 23 | #1,424 | 23.2 |
| 1932 | 37 | #1,116 | 35.4 |
| 1931 | 39 | #1,088 | 37.5 |
| 1930 | 27 | #1,408 | 24.6 |
| 1929 | 37 | #1,147 | 34.4 |
| 1928 | 34 | #1,238 | 30.7 |
| 1927 | 46 | #1,031 | 40.8 |
| 1926 | 40 | #1,136 | 36.0 |
| 1925 | 43 | #1,058 | 38.5 |
| 1924 | 47 | #1,038 | 41.5 |
| 1923 | 42 | #1,105 | 38.3 |
| 1922 | 32 | #1,293 | 29.4 |
| 1921 | 33 | #1,275 | 30.0 |
| 1920 | 40 | #1,128 | 37.6 |
| 1919 | 36 | #1,173 | 36.7 |
| 1918 | 37 | #1,134 | 36.5 |
| 1917 | 44 | #987 | 47.5 |
| 1916 | 29 | #1,250 | 32.6 |
| 1915 | 39 | #1,027 | 46.0 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,641 | 22.9 |
| 1913 | 15 | #1,400 | 29.3 |
| 1912 | 10 | #1,668 | 23.3 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,072 | 48.7 |
| 1905 | 8 | #958 | 60.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Hansel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Hansel has been given almost only to boys: 5 girls in 115 years of records.
Girls and boys named Hansel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Hansel, and how old are they?
2,480 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 3,636 Americans ever recorded as Hansel. The median Hansel alive today is 14 years old; half are between 6 and 39.
The 2020 Census counted 2,486 people named Hansel (37 women and girls, 2,449 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,991 born in the U.S. The Census count is 25% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 83 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 223 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 183 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 360 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 394 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,230 |
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 Hansel born?
The states with the most babies named Hansel are Texas, Florida and California, with 78% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 23 | #1,024 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 13 | #1,028 | 0.8× |
| California | 7 | #2,062 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 6 | #1,269 | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 6 | #965 | 0.4× |
Where Hansel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Hansel is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 Hansel 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 3,700 babies since 1880, Hansel is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 103 of their 108 babies (95%), 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 Hansel
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 Hansel and names like it
- Compare Hansel and HansellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sHansel peaked in 2021.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Hansel since 1910.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Hansel.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Hansel alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with HMost given first.