Boys' name · since 1952

Kipling

398 babies named Kipling in U.S. Social Security records since 1952, with the highest year being 2016. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#9,052 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,352 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
398
born since 1952
1960s
peak decade

Yes -- Kipling is the #8352 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 398 recorded since 1952.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kipling has been recorded 398 times among boys since 1952, currently ranked #8352 nationally and more common than 40% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1960s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1952 to 2025.

  • #9,052 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #8,352 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 398 born since 1952
  • 1960s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kipling ranks #9,052 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,352 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 398 born since 1952, peaking in the 1960s.

#9,052 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#8,352 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
398
born since 1952
1960s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%40%
Kipling vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Kipling's 398 recorded births place it above 80.08% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

How Kipling compares

398 Top 49% higher than 51% 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

Kipling's all-time total is 8% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Kipling Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 398 369 358,536
Peak-year births 16 34 22,252

Kipling's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Kipling's full recorded timeline at 1977, 49% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 51% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1952, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2016 peak of 16 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Kipling popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1952–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2016)
16
Annual births at peak, across 74 years of records
05101520 195219591965197119771999201420202025 9

Kipling by decade

1960s is the heaviest window (96 births, 24% of the file).

1960s was Kipling's strongest decade.

96 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.

Kipling births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1960s at 96 births (24% of all-time use).

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Kipling?
Since 1952, Social Security records show 398 babies named Kipling. Across the full SSA archive it ranks #9,052 of 45,481 boys' names by total births. In 2025, it holds #8,352 of 13,930 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 2016, with 16 births.
Where does Kipling sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kipling ranks #9,052 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,352 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 Kipling most popular?
Kipling was most popular in the 1960s decade with 96 total births. The single peak year was 2016.
How long has the name Kipling been used?
Kipling has been recorded in Social Security data since 1952, spanning 74 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Kipling?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Kip, Kipp, Kipton, Kiptyn, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Kipling's data

  • Kipling's usage has stayed within range of its 1960s decade-level peak (96 total births) through the 2020s (52) -- 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 Kipling

Nearby Names Like Kipling

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

Names with a similar popularity rank to Kipling

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Kipling: 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, 1952–2025 (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 Kipling 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.