King — #342 US boys' name
37,040 babies named King in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2017. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 98% of names given to boys today.
55% of everyone ever named King was born in this single decade.
2,694 babies were named King in 2017 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About King
The Social Security Administration has registered 37,040 babies named King between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, King currently holds the #342 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2017, when 2,694 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that King performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 20,432 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, King shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 3,438 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Florida. In total, SSA state-level files list King in 45 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for King in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 37,040 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
King at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
King popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (2017)
- 2,694
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #342 among boys.
37,040 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2017 with 2,694 births in a single year.
King popularity over time — girls
40 total births recorded since 1929 (King as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of King accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
King by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 2010s
- 20,432 births that decade — 55% of King's all-time total
King decade highlights
- Peak decade 20,432 births
- Runner-up 8,256 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
2010s was King's strongest decade
20,432 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 55% of all-time use.
King by state
Where King concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 3,438 | 9.3% |
| #2 | California | | 3,094 | 8.4% |
| #3 | Florida | | 3,000 | 8.1% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 2,457 | 6.6% |
| #5 | New York | | 1,845 | 5.0% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 1,666 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 1,177 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 1,166 | 3.1% |
3,438 of 37,040 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 45 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- Texas 9.3% of nationwide
- California 8.4% of nationwide
- Florida 8.1% of nationwide
- Georgia 6.6% of nationwide
- New York 5.0% of nationwide
Recorded in 45 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
Texas accounts for 9.3% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
King appears in 45 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.