Boys' name · since 1914
Johnston
512 babies named Johnston in U.S. Social Security records since 1914, with the highest year being 2007. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #7,791 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,777 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 512
- born since 1914
- 2000s
- peak decade
Johnston currently ranks #9777 among boys' names in America, with 512 babies recorded since 1914.
Johnston has 512 recorded births among boys since 1914, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #9777 as of the latest data, more common than 30% of boys, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2025.
- #7,791 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #9,777 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 512 born since 1914
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Johnston ranks #7,791 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,777 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 512 born since 1914, peaking in the 2000s.
- #7,791 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #9,777 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 512
- born since 1914
- 2000s
- peak decade
Johnston's 512 recorded births place it above 82.85% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Johnston compares
512 Top 44% higher than 56% 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
Johnston's all-time total is 39% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Johnston | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 512 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 18 | 34 | 22,252 |
Johnston's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Johnston's SSA record in two at 1991 and the more recent half accounts for 57% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 43%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1915, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2007 peak of 18, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Johnston popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2025
- Peak year (2007)
- 18
- Annual births at peak, across 112 years of records
Johnston by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (105 births, 21% of the file).
2000s was Johnston's strongest decade.
105 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Johnston births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 31
1910s
31 births
- 1920s 33
1920s
33 births
- 1930s 6
1930s
6 births
- 1940s 13
1940s
13 births
- 1950s 18
1950s
18 births
- 1960s 16
1960s
16 births
- 1970s 38
1970s
38 births
- 1980s
1980s
56 births
- 1990s
1990s
71 births
- 2000s
2000s
105 births
- 2010s
2010s
79 births
- 2020s
2020s
46 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 105 births (21% of all-time use).
How Johnston 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 Johnston's total volume
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Johnston's data
- Johnston's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (105 total births) through the 2020s (46) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Johnston
Nearby Names Like Johnston
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Johnston
Compare Johnston side by side: Johnston vs John Johnston vs Johnny Johnston vs Johnnie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Johnston
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Johnston: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2007)
Similar record span (~111 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, 1914–2025 (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 Johnston 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.