Homer
Homer was given to 21 boys in 2025, #4,768 among boys’ names; 61,279 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 12,000 Americans named Homer and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (20% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 57 and 80.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Homer by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Homer mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Homer is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.”
From Latin Homērus, from Ancient Greek Ὅμηρος (Hómēros).
/ˈhoʊməɹ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Homer?
#4,768 among boys’ names, 2025
Homer fell from #3,615 in 2015 to #4,768 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 15.7 to 12.3 per million.
1,734 babies in 1920, the peak
Homer peaked in 1920, when 1,734 babies were given it (1,722 boys, #100 among boys’ names). The 21 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 | #4,768 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 26 | #4,116 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 39 | #3,140 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 35 | #3,368 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 32 | #3,529 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 30 | #3,606 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 23 | #4,383 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 32 | #3,466 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 26 | #4,025 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 24 | #4,241 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30 | #3,615 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 30 | #3,560 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 20 | #4,690 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 25 | #4,054 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 21 | #4,562 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 25 | #4,035 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 13 | #6,560 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 27 | #3,859 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 22 | #4,417 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 22 | #4,280 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 19 | #4,533 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 24 | #3,773 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 9 | #7,467 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 31 | #2,964 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 18 | #4,352 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 22 | #3,677 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 27 | #3,050 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 33 | #2,571 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 29 | #2,697 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 36 | #2,263 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 32 | #2,414 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 31 | #2,463 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 29 | #2,531 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 49 | #1,734 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 39 | #1,958 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 58 | #1,488 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 50 | #1,590 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 53 | #1,451 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 55 | #1,347 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 70 | #1,128 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 79 | #1,035 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 72 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 86 | #949 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 78 | #1,028 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 98 | #902 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 106 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 99 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 101 | #856 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 111 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 109 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 112 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 143 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 119 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 143 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 189 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 182 | #603 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 193 | #563 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 194 | #543 | 0.11 |
| 1967 | 173 | #575 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 224 | #507 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 230 | #503 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 264 | #485 | 0.13 |
| 1963 | 254 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1962 | 310 | #451 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 326 | #447 | 0.15 |
| 1960 | 324 | #449 | 0.15 |
| 1959 | 374 | #411 | 0.18 |
| 1958 | 373 | #405 | 0.18 |
| 1957 | 409 | #381 | 0.19 |
| 1956 | 467 | #345 | 0.22 |
| 1955 | 412 | #354 | 0.20 |
| 1954 | 459 | #333 | 0.23 |
| 1953 | 480 | #321 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 543 | #305 | 0.28 |
| 1951 | 537 | #299 | 0.29 |
| 1950 | 552 | #288 | 0.31 |
| 1949 | 589 | #276 | 0.33 |
| 1948 | 619 | #264 | 0.35 |
| 1947 | 641 | #266 | 0.35 |
| 1946 | 593 | #256 | 0.37 |
| 1945 | 641 | #216 | 0.48 |
| 1944 | 741 | #201 | 0.54 |
| 1943 | 802 | #201 | 0.56 |
| 1942 | 781 | #202 | 0.57 |
| 1941 | 776 | #189 | 0.63 |
| 1940 | 773 | #185 | 0.67 |
| 1939 | 785 | #180 | 0.71 |
| 1938 | 855 | #171 | 0.77 |
| 1937 | 889 | #165 | 0.83 |
| 1936 | 830 | #165 | 0.80 |
| 1935 | 821 | #170 | 0.79 |
| 1934 | 937 | #156 | 0.91 |
| 1933 | 965 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1932 | 1,055 | #148 | 1.0 |
| 1931 | 1,104 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1930 | 1,172 | #146 | 1.1 |
| 1929 | 1,206 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1928 | 1,320 | #131 | 1.2 |
| 1927 | 1,371 | #129 | 1.2 |
| 1926 | 1,503 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 1925 | 1,544 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1924 | 1,647 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1923 | 1,545 | #113 | 1.4 |
| 1922 | 1,630 | #108 | 1.5 |
| 1921 | 1,657 | #105 | 1.5 |
| 1920 | 1,722 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1919 | 1,547 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1918 | 1,680 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1917 | 1,552 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1916 | 1,506 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1915 | 1,487 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1914 | 1,152 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1913 | 987 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1912 | 794 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1911 | 419 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1910 | 347 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1909 | 313 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1908 | 340 | #80 | 2.2 |
| 1907 | 312 | #84 | 2.1 |
| 1906 | 267 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1905 | 318 | #76 | 2.4 |
| 1904 | 256 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1903 | 257 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1902 | 269 | #80 | 2.2 |
| 1901 | 257 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1900 | 326 | #80 | 2.2 |
| 1899 | 239 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1898 | 246 | #85 | 2.0 |
| 1897 | 278 | #70 | 2.5 |
| 1896 | 258 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1895 | 296 | #67 | 2.5 |
| 1894 | 273 | #73 | 2.4 |
| 1893 | 293 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 1892 | 301 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1891 | 230 | #74 | 2.3 |
| 1890 | 223 | #77 | 2.0 |
| 1889 | 255 | #73 | 2.3 |
| 1888 | 256 | #76 | 2.1 |
| 1887 | 248 | #70 | 2.4 |
| 1886 | 224 | #79 | 2.0 |
| 1885 | 228 | #76 | 2.1 |
| 1884 | 216 | #79 | 1.9 |
| 1883 | 210 | #76 | 2.0 |
| 1882 | 190 | #85 | 1.7 |
| 1881 | 181 | #77 | 1.8 |
| 1880 | 205 | #76 | 1.9 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Homer a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Homer has been given almost only to boys: 367 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Homer: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Homer, and how old are they?
12,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 20% of the 61,279 Americans ever recorded as Homer. The median Homer alive today is 70 years old; half are between 57 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 14,540 people named Homer (54 women and girls, 14,486 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,576 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,820 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,430 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,130 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 865 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 361 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 365 |
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 Homer born?
The states with the most babies named Homer are Texas, Georgia and Kentucky, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Kentucky is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5,195 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Georgia | 3,810 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Kentucky | 3,246 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Ohio | 3,185 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 2,545 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,462 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Alabama | 2,367 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| West Virginia | 2,251 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Oklahoma | 2,047 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Missouri | 2,008 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Homer is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Homer is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Homer 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 61,922 babies since 1880, Homer is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 21 of their 21 babies (100%), 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 Homer
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 Homer and names like it
- Compare Homer and HomarBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sHomer peaked in 1920.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Homer since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Homer: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Homer.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Homer alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with HMost given first.