Boys' name · since 1880
Jacob
988,227 babies named Jacob in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1998. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #29 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #43 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 988,227
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
Jacob currently ranks #43 among boys' names in America, with 988,227 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Jacob recorded 988,227 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #43 nationally today, ahead of 99.7% of boys, peaking in the 1990s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #29 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #43 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 988,227 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jacob ranks #29 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #43 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 988,227 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #29 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #43 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 988,227
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
Jacob's 988,227 recorded births place it above 99.93% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Jacob compares
988,227 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Jacob's all-time total is 2,678x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Jacob | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 988,227 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 36,031 | 34 | 22,252 |
Jacob's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Jacob's full recorded timeline at 1953, 96% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 4% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1901, with just 172 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1998 peak of 36,031 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Jacob popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1998)
- 36,031
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Jacob popularity over time - girls
2,305 total births recorded since 1911 (Jacob as girls' name)
Jacob by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (298,415 births, 30% of the file).
1990s was Jacob's strongest decade.
298,415 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 30% of all-time use.
Jacob births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 3,566
1880s
3,566 births
- 1890s 2,551
1890s
2,551 births
- 1900s 2,191
1900s
2,191 births
- 1910s 8,684
1910s
8,684 births
- 1920s 9,047
1920s
9,047 births
- 1930s 5,264
1930s
5,264 births
- 1940s 4,853
1940s
4,853 births
- 1950s 5,400
1950s
5,400 births
- 1960s 5,075
1960s
5,075 births
- 1970s 36,351
1970s
36,351 births
- 1980s
1980s
124,254 births
- 1990s
1990s
298,415 births
- 2000s
2000s
274,077 births
- 2010s
2010s
163,321 births
- 2020s 45,178
2020s
45,178 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 298,415 births (30% of all-time use).
How Jacob 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 Jacob's total volume
Jacob by state
Where Jacob concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 110,946 | 11.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 82,859 | 8.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 52,853 | 5.3% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 46,247 | 4.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 43,199 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Florida | | 40,649 | 4.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 40,440 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Pennsylvania | | 40,402 | 4.1% |
110,946 of 988,227 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Jacob appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Jacob? ▼
Where does Jacob sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Jacob most popular? ▼
Where is Jacob most popular? ▼
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What to do with Jacob's data
- Jacob's decade-level peak was the 1990s (298,415 total births); usage has since declined to 45,178 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Jacobs (110,946 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Jacob
Nearby Names Like Jacob
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Jacob
Compare Jacob side by side: Jacob vs Jack Jacob vs Jackson Jacob vs Jace
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Jacob
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Jacob: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1998)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
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 Jacob 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.