Howard
Howard was given to 226 boys in 2025, #1,004 among boys’ names; 348,342 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 112,000 Americans named Howard and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (32% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 57 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Howard by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Howard mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Howard is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, transferred back from the surname. Short form: Howie.” Its etymology gives the senses “high” (hár) and “guard” (varðr).
Medieval personal name from Middle English Howard, Howarde, from Old Norse Hávarðr, from hár (“high”) + varðr (“guard”). In some cases a variant of Heward, from Old French Huard.
/ˈhaʊɚd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Howard?
#1,004 among boys’ names, 2025
Howard rose from #1,038 in 2015 to #1,004 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.10 to 0.13 per 1,000.
7,749 babies in 1921, the peak
Howard peaked in 1921, when 7,749 babies were given it (7,713 boys, #27 among boys’ names). The 226 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 226 | #1,004 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 207 | #1,059 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 219 | #1,005 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 208 | #1,057 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 241 | #939 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 194 | #1,044 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 216 | #984 | 0.12 |
| 2018 | 213 | #976 | 0.12 |
| 2017 | 203 | #999 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 241 | #901 | 0.13 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 194 | #1,038 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 211 | #987 | 0.11 |
| 2013 | 194 | #1,009 | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 203 | #986 | 0.11 |
| 2011 | 207 | #959 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 229 | #895 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 216 | #942 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 229 | #907 | 0.11 |
| 2007 | 241 | #862 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 243 | #837 | 0.12 |
| 2005 | 229 | #823 | 0.11 |
| 2004 | 235 | #775 | 0.12 |
| 2003 | 258 | #718 | 0.13 |
| 2002 | 266 | #685 | 0.14 |
| 2001 | 290 | #644 | 0.15 |
| 2000 | 270 | #663 | 0.14 |
| 1999 | 277 | #637 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 330 | #586 | 0.17 |
| 1997 | 324 | #572 | 0.17 |
| 1996 | 305 | #589 | 0.16 |
| 1995 | 358 | #532 | 0.19 |
| 1994 | 374 | #523 | 0.19 |
| 1993 | 416 | #499 | 0.21 |
| 1992 | 464 | #466 | 0.23 |
| 1991 | 495 | #444 | 0.25 |
| 1990 | 572 | #402 | 0.28 |
| 1989 | 559 | #392 | 0.28 |
| 1988 | 614 | #344 | 0.32 |
| 1987 | 626 | #330 | 0.34 |
| 1986 | 600 | #331 | 0.33 |
| 1985 | 677 | #302 | 0.37 |
| 1984 | 674 | #298 | 0.37 |
| 1983 | 727 | #282 | 0.41 |
| 1982 | 795 | #268 | 0.44 |
| 1981 | 855 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1980 | 925 | #242 | 0.52 |
| 1979 | 926 | #238 | 0.54 |
| 1978 | 956 | #222 | 0.58 |
| 1977 | 1,017 | #216 | 0.62 |
| 1976 | 1,032 | #208 | 0.66 |
| 1975 | 1,166 | #195 | 0.75 |
| 1974 | 1,208 | #186 | 0.77 |
| 1973 | 1,349 | #174 | 0.87 |
| 1972 | 1,493 | #168 | 0.92 |
| 1971 | 1,837 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,996 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1969 | 2,146 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1968 | 2,156 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1967 | 2,284 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1966 | 2,546 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1965 | 2,678 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1964 | 3,059 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1963 | 3,160 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1962 | 3,277 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1961 | 3,570 | #109 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 3,827 | #108 | 1.8 |
| 1959 | 3,987 | #104 | 1.9 |
| 1958 | 4,364 | #95 | 2.1 |
| 1957 | 4,614 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1956 | 4,707 | #84 | 2.2 |
| 1955 | 4,746 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1954 | 4,933 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1953 | 4,985 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1952 | 5,244 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 1951 | 5,108 | #74 | 2.7 |
| 1950 | 5,164 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1949 | 5,284 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1948 | 5,497 | #63 | 3.1 |
| 1947 | 6,061 | #62 | 3.3 |
| 1946 | 5,694 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1945 | 4,768 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1944 | 5,025 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1943 | 5,739 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1942 | 5,571 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1941 | 5,067 | #47 | 4.1 |
| 1940 | 4,824 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1939 | 4,613 | #47 | 4.2 |
| 1938 | 5,018 | #42 | 4.5 |
| 1937 | 4,700 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1936 | 4,874 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1935 | 4,970 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1934 | 5,068 | #37 | 4.9 |
| 1933 | 4,995 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1932 | 5,292 | #36 | 5.1 |
| 1931 | 5,624 | #34 | 5.4 |
| 1930 | 6,341 | #31 | 5.8 |
| 1929 | 6,010 | #31 | 5.6 |
| 1928 | 6,496 | #31 | 5.9 |
| 1927 | 6,831 | #28 | 6.1 |
| 1926 | 6,836 | #27 | 6.2 |
| 1925 | 7,173 | #26 | 6.4 |
| 1924 | 7,371 | #26 | 6.5 |
| 1923 | 7,156 | #26 | 6.5 |
| 1922 | 7,296 | #26 | 6.7 |
| 1921 | 7,713 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1920 | 7,466 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 1919 | 6,843 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 1918 | 6,928 | #26 | 6.8 |
| 1917 | 6,410 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 1916 | 6,171 | #25 | 6.9 |
| 1915 | 6,103 | #25 | 7.2 |
| 1914 | 4,490 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 1913 | 3,663 | #26 | 7.1 |
| 1912 | 3,212 | #25 | 7.5 |
| 1911 | 1,467 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1910 | 1,309 | #27 | 6.7 |
| 1909 | 1,166 | #26 | 7.1 |
| 1908 | 1,078 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1907 | 875 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1906 | 803 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1905 | 735 | #35 | 5.6 |
| 1904 | 726 | #35 | 5.7 |
| 1903 | 636 | #37 | 5.3 |
| 1902 | 632 | #35 | 5.2 |
| 1901 | 584 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 1900 | 779 | #35 | 5.2 |
| 1899 | 589 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 1898 | 706 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1897 | 634 | #33 | 5.6 |
| 1896 | 677 | #33 | 5.7 |
| 1895 | 641 | #33 | 5.5 |
| 1894 | 612 | #33 | 5.3 |
| 1893 | 556 | #35 | 5.0 |
| 1892 | 548 | #39 | 4.5 |
| 1891 | 485 | #40 | 4.8 |
| 1890 | 501 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1889 | 503 | #38 | 4.5 |
| 1888 | 513 | #40 | 4.2 |
| 1887 | 429 | #42 | 4.2 |
| 1886 | 467 | #37 | 4.2 |
| 1885 | 438 | #41 | 4.1 |
| 1884 | 432 | #44 | 3.8 |
| 1883 | 429 | #39 | 4.1 |
| 1882 | 422 | #42 | 3.7 |
| 1881 | 359 | #42 | 3.6 |
| 1880 | 357 | #44 | 3.2 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Howard a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Howard has been given almost only to boys: 1,676 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Howard: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Howard, and how old are they?
112,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 32% of the 348,342 Americans ever recorded as Howard. The median Howard alive today is 68 years old; half are between 57 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 134,907 people named Howard (256 women and girls, 134,651 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 136,504 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 17,800 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 56,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,670 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,980 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,750 |
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 Howard born?
The states with the most babies named Howard are New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 37,028 | #1,856 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 24,147 | #682 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 18,191 | #890 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 17,581 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| California | 14,337 | #1,092 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 13,539 | #1,518 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 12,214 | #1,034 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 11,358 | #1,192 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 10,365 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Virginia | 9,593 | #913 | 1.2× |
Where Howard is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Howard is most over-represented in Maryland: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Howard 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 Howard
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 Howard and names like it
- Compare Howard and RalphBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sHoward peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Howard since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Howard: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Howard.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Howard alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with HMost given first.