Kirby
Kirby is given to both girls and boys: 65 girls and 36 boys were given it in 2025 (#2,671 among girls’ names and #3,277 among boys’, #3,521 among all names counting both); 18,495 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Kirby every year since 2021.
An estimated 13,800 Americans named Kirby and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (75% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 33 and 64.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kirby by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kirby mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kirby is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “church” (kirk) and “habitation” (-by) and “village with a church” (,).
Originally Kirkby, from kirk (“church”) + -by (“habitation”), “village with a church”.
/ˈkɝbi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kirby?
#3,277 among boys’ names, 2025
Kirby fell from #2,376 in 2015 to #3,277 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 28.7 to 21.1 per million.
509 babies in 1984, the peak
Kirby peaked in 1984, when 509 babies were given it (142 boys, #732 among boys’ names). The 101 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 20% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65 | #2,671 | 36 | #3,277 |
| 2024 | 70 | #2,545 | 52 | #2,583 |
| 2023 | 55 | #3,036 | 47 | #2,757 |
| 2022 | 62 | #2,770 | 44 | #2,894 |
| 2021 | 62 | #2,771 | 39 | #3,097 |
| 2020 | 39 | #3,750 | 52 | #2,488 |
| 2019 | 34 | #4,214 | 43 | #2,880 |
| 2018 | 46 | #3,419 | 51 | #2,531 |
| 2017 | 33 | #4,339 | 45 | #2,739 |
| 2016 | 31 | #4,587 | 44 | #2,745 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28 | #4,922 | 55 | #2,376 |
| 2014 | 31 | #4,606 | 40 | #2,910 |
| 2013 | 27 | #5,073 | 44 | #2,688 |
| 2012 | 30 | #4,777 | 48 | #2,574 |
| 2011 | 25 | #5,460 | 51 | #2,460 |
| 2010 | 24 | #5,711 | 50 | #2,491 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,637 | 47 | #2,642 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,582 | 49 | #2,565 |
| 2007 | 20 | #6,697 | 64 | #2,128 |
| 2006 | 22 | #6,029 | 53 | #2,365 |
| 2005 | 22 | #5,693 | 50 | #2,346 |
| 2004 | 23 | #5,461 | 60 | #2,006 |
| 2003 | 27 | #4,739 | 54 | #2,088 |
| 2002 | 28 | #4,445 | 64 | #1,799 |
| 2001 | 41 | #3,340 | 82 | #1,487 |
| 2000 | 50 | #2,877 | 73 | #1,618 |
| 1999 | 56 | #2,547 | 86 | #1,376 |
| 1998 | 69 | #2,110 | 100 | #1,224 |
| 1997 | 65 | #2,144 | 115 | #1,105 |
| 1996 | 115 | #1,431 | 131 | #970 |
| 1995 | 97 | #1,567 | 129 | #976 |
| 1994 | 115 | #1,403 | 136 | #945 |
| 1993 | 143 | #1,214 | 173 | #802 |
| 1992 | 148 | #1,183 | 194 | #741 |
| 1991 | 143 | #1,206 | 177 | #768 |
| 1990 | 162 | #1,088 | 167 | #781 |
| 1989 | 153 | #1,092 | 196 | #699 |
| 1988 | 152 | #1,051 | 186 | #688 |
| 1987 | 152 | #1,019 | 117 | #863 |
| 1986 | 161 | #982 | 130 | #798 |
| 1985 | 225 | #760 | 127 | #791 |
| 1984 | 367 | #526 | 142 | #732 |
| 1983 | 232 | #719 | 147 | #707 |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,820 | 78 | #1,030 |
| 1981 | 8 | #7,753 | 111 | #835 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,670 | 104 | #875 |
| 1979 | under 5 | 107 | #839 | |
| 1978 | 11 | #5,745 | 89 | #918 |
| 1977 | 10 | #6,086 | 129 | #754 |
| 1976 | 7 | #7,683 | 118 | #766 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,533 | 145 | #688 |
| 1974 | 7 | #7,251 | 146 | #675 |
| 1973 | 9 | #5,781 | 151 | #646 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,794 | 266 | #481 |
| 1971 | 9 | #5,759 | 290 | #476 |
| 1970 | 9 | #5,597 | 148 | #677 |
| 1969 | 7 | #6,263 | 173 | #595 |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,568 | 190 | #547 |
| 1967 | 12 | #3,947 | 192 | #538 |
| 1966 | 11 | #4,072 | 188 | #558 |
| 1965 | 12 | #3,835 | 212 | #527 |
| 1964 | 13 | #3,786 | 230 | #515 |
| 1963 | 9 | #4,703 | 253 | #506 |
| 1962 | 12 | #3,899 | 277 | #478 |
| 1961 | 13 | #3,692 | 291 | #474 |
| 1960 | 14 | #3,441 | 345 | #434 |
| 1959 | 25 | #2,313 | 343 | #430 |
| 1958 | 15 | #3,164 | 342 | #425 |
| 1957 | 20 | #2,602 | 357 | #410 |
| 1956 | 10 | #4,035 | 344 | #410 |
| 1955 | 5 | #6,287 | 271 | #449 |
| 1954 | 7 | #4,907 | 326 | #397 |
| 1953 | 10 | #3,836 | 288 | #414 |
| 1952 | 14 | #2,984 | 265 | #429 |
| 1951 | 5 | #5,811 | 247 | #430 |
| 1950 | 10 | #3,554 | 226 | #441 |
| 1949 | 11 | #3,284 | 197 | #468 |
| 1948 | 9 | #3,737 | 199 | #474 |
| 1947 | 13 | #2,980 | 209 | #466 |
| 1946 | 18 | #2,271 | 191 | #460 |
| 1945 | 9 | #3,266 | 106 | #587 |
| 1944 | 8 | #3,537 | 110 | #587 |
| 1943 | 9 | #3,362 | 139 | #534 |
| 1942 | 6 | #4,369 | 136 | #523 |
| 1941 | 6 | #4,194 | 120 | #544 |
| 1940 | 12 | #2,494 | 102 | #587 |
| 1939 | under 5 | 96 | #590 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 74 | #712 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 97 | #585 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 82 | #639 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 68 | #745 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 74 | #713 | |
| 1933 | 9 | #3,001 | 59 | #805 |
| 1932 | 6 | #4,164 | 64 | #798 |
| 1931 | under 5 | 51 | #906 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 66 | #799 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 71 | #760 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 59 | #867 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 53 | #959 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 77 | #728 | |
| 1925 | 5 | #5,398 | 48 | #992 |
| 1924 | under 5 | 71 | #805 | |
| 1923 | 6 | #4,680 | 61 | #877 |
| 1922 | under 5 | 62 | #878 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 58 | #928 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 60 | #892 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 54 | #913 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 52 | #926 | |
| 1917 | 8 | #3,519 | 59 | #837 |
| 1916 | under 5 | 55 | #849 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 59 | #786 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 38 | #891 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 30 | #908 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 25 | #906 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 18 | #778 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 13 | #903 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 13 | #822 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 9 | #990 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 12 | #796 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,340 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 8 | #966 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 7 | #1,023 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 5 | #1,216 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 8 | #892 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 8 | #814 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 13 | #715 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 7 | #906 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 9 | #781 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 13 | #598 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 10 | #756 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 8 | #836 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 8 | #823 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 9 | #736 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 10 | #718 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 7 | #807 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 12 | #582 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 6 | #992 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 7 | #792 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 10 | #624 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 14 | #512 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 8 | #701 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 6 | #896 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 5 | #947 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Kirby a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 18,495 Americans recorded as Kirby, 21% are girls and 79% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Kirby: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kirby, and how old are they?
13,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 75% of the 18,495 Americans ever recorded as Kirby. The median Kirby alive today is 43 years old; half are between 33 and 64.
The 2020 Census counted 13,276 people named Kirby (3,302 women and girls, 9,974 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 14,088 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 388 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,680 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,450 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,540 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,560 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,170 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Kirby born?
The states with the most babies named Kirby are Texas, California and Louisiana, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,993 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| California | 869 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Louisiana | 808 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| North Carolina | 668 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 579 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 467 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 441 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Florida | 363 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Missouri | 352 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 336 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Kirby is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kirby is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Kirby with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 19,501 babies since 1880, Kirby is the most given (95% of them). In 2025 it was given to 101 of their 106 babies (95%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
More about Kirby and names like it
- Compare Kirby and KerbyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sKirby peaked in 1984.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kirby since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Kirby: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1984The year the most babies were named Kirby.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Kirby alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with KMost given first.