Boys' name · since 1880

Isom

1,783 babies named Isom in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#3,548 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,912 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
1,783
born since 1880
1920s
peak decade

1,783 babies have been named Isom since 1880, making it today's #8912 boys' name.

Social Security Administration records show Isom recorded 1,783 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #8912 nationally today, ahead of 36% of boys, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #3,548 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #8,912 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 1,783 born since 1880
  • 1920s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Isom ranks #3,548 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,912 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 1,783 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.

#3,548 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,912 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
1,783
born since 1880
1920s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%36%
Isom vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Isom's 1,783 recorded births place it above 92.19% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

6 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

6 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Mississippi.

How Isom compares

1,783 Top 23% higher than 77% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Isom's all-time total is 5x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Isom Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 1,783 369 358,536
Peak-year births 37 34 22,252

Isom's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Isom splits its recorded history at 1947: 32% of all births land in the more recent half, 68% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1961 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1920 peak of 37 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Isom popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1920)
37
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
010203040 188018971914193119481967198820092025 8

Isom by decade

1920s is the heaviest window (277 births, 16% of the file).

1920s was Isom's strongest decade.

277 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.

Isom births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1920s at 277 births (16% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Isom compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Isom's total volume

Isom vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -41, 4.4%-111, 1.9%-111, 2.4%-86, 3.5%-58, 3.3%-52, 3.6%-38, 6.5%-114, 2.1%-112, 2.1%-67, 4%-52, 4.7%-129, 2.9%-35, 11.3%-56, 5.4%-33, 5.8%Isom-146, 2.1%Isom
Isom vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Isom by state

Where Isom concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 6 states by recorded births for the name Isom
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Mississippi
67 3.8%
#2 Georgia
28 1.6%
#3 Texas
21 1.2%
#4 Alabama
17 1.0%
#5 Kentucky
10 0.6%
#6 Louisiana
5 0.3%
Mississippi share of Isom's total US births 3.8%
Even split

67 of 1,783 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 6 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Isom? ▼
Since 1880, Social Security records show 1,783 babies named Isom. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #3,548 of 45,481 boys' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #8,912 of 13,930 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 1920, with 37 births.
Where does Isom sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Isom ranks #3,548 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,912 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Isom most popular? ▼
Isom was most popular in the 1920s decade with 277 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
Where is Isom most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Isom are Mississippi (67 births), Georgia (28 births), Texas (21 births).
How long has the name Isom been used? ▼
Records for Isom go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Isom? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ison, Iso. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Isom's data

  • Isom's decade-level peak was the 1920s (277 total births); usage has since declined to 35 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • Mississippi records the most Isoms (67 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Mississippi names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Isom

Nearby Names Like Isom

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Isom

Ison Boy
108 births
Iso Boy
#13753 5 births

Compare Isom side by side: Isom vs Ison Isom vs Iso

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Isom

Ned #8911
17,292 births · Peak 1939
Alois #8913
2,525 births · Peak 1918
Winfield #8910
5,214 births · Peak 1916
Len #8914
4,514 births · Peak 1960
Vidaan #8909
9 births · Peak 2025
Mal #8915
343 births · Peak 1950
Soli #8908
9 births · Peak 2025
Davie #8916
3,258 births · Peak 1955

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Isom: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Isom draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.