Kirk
Kirk was given to 52 boys in 2025, #2,551 among boys’ names; 68,264 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 54,000 Americans named Kirk and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (79% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 47 and 66.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kirk by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kirk mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kirk is “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
From kirk, from Northern Middle English kirke, borrowed from Old Norse kirkja, borrowed from Old English ċiriċe, from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, borrowed from Koine Greek κῡρῐᾰκόν (kūrĭăkón), a nominalization of κῡριακός (kūriakós), or from Ancient Greek -ον (-on). Doublet of Church. The sense meaning fellatio as well as the verb are derived from the shooting of Charlie Kirk, as he was shot in the neck (“fellatio”).
/kɜɹk/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kirk?
#2,551 among boys’ names, 2025
Kirk fell from #1,698 in 2015 to #2,551 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 48.0 to 30.4 per million.
2,560 babies in 1962, the peak
Kirk peaked in 1962, when 2,560 boys were given it, #138 among boys’ names. The 52 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52 | #2,551 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 52 | #2,584 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 52 | #2,565 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 55 | #2,505 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 67 | #2,146 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 67 | #2,104 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 76 | #1,945 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 70 | #2,059 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 95 | #1,673 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 80 | #1,870 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 92 | #1,698 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 104 | #1,543 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 112 | #1,472 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 97 | #1,609 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 96 | #1,606 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 102 | #1,562 | 0.05 |
| 2009 | 111 | #1,505 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 95 | #1,635 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 124 | #1,356 | 0.06 |
| 2006 | 121 | #1,347 | 0.06 |
| 2005 | 141 | #1,146 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 140 | #1,130 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 158 | #1,002 | 0.08 |
| 2002 | 161 | #979 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 178 | #886 | 0.09 |
| 2000 | 189 | #846 | 0.10 |
| 1999 | 221 | #733 | 0.12 |
| 1998 | 231 | #718 | 0.12 |
| 1997 | 317 | #582 | 0.17 |
| 1996 | 303 | #594 | 0.16 |
| 1995 | 316 | #575 | 0.17 |
| 1994 | 379 | #520 | 0.20 |
| 1993 | 418 | #497 | 0.21 |
| 1992 | 515 | #430 | 0.26 |
| 1991 | 562 | #405 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 698 | #347 | 0.34 |
| 1989 | 845 | #290 | 0.42 |
| 1988 | 803 | #288 | 0.42 |
| 1987 | 724 | #297 | 0.39 |
| 1986 | 642 | #316 | 0.35 |
| 1985 | 681 | #300 | 0.37 |
| 1984 | 691 | #293 | 0.38 |
| 1983 | 634 | #311 | 0.35 |
| 1982 | 661 | #301 | 0.36 |
| 1981 | 716 | #287 | 0.40 |
| 1980 | 789 | #272 | 0.44 |
| 1979 | 807 | #261 | 0.47 |
| 1978 | 716 | #273 | 0.44 |
| 1977 | 881 | #238 | 0.54 |
| 1976 | 890 | #228 | 0.57 |
| 1975 | 1,001 | #214 | 0.64 |
| 1974 | 1,122 | #196 | 0.71 |
| 1973 | 1,211 | #188 | 0.78 |
| 1972 | 1,350 | #180 | 0.83 |
| 1971 | 1,744 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,919 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 2,073 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1968 | 2,012 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1967 | 1,995 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1966 | 1,839 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1965 | 2,057 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 2,232 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1963 | 2,476 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1962 | 2,560 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1961 | 2,513 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1960 | 2,447 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,407 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1958 | 2,340 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1957 | 2,182 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1956 | 1,908 | #162 | 0.90 |
| 1955 | 1,628 | #172 | 0.79 |
| 1954 | 1,375 | #190 | 0.67 |
| 1953 | 1,233 | #197 | 0.63 |
| 1952 | 1,122 | #199 | 0.58 |
| 1951 | 998 | #205 | 0.53 |
| 1950 | 1,030 | #199 | 0.58 |
| 1949 | 731 | #241 | 0.41 |
| 1948 | 338 | #369 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 334 | #377 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 248 | #405 | 0.15 |
| 1945 | 209 | #416 | 0.16 |
| 1944 | 220 | #406 | 0.16 |
| 1943 | 209 | #431 | 0.15 |
| 1942 | 169 | #473 | 0.12 |
| 1941 | 166 | #459 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 131 | #506 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 105 | #559 | 0.09 |
| 1938 | 80 | #677 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 72 | #709 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 53 | #841 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 61 | #794 | 0.06 |
| 1934 | 60 | #802 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 30 | #1,217 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 34 | #1,164 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 44 | #1,004 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,032 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 42 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 37 | #1,179 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 32 | #1,313 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 36 | #1,204 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 42 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 50 | #1,000 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 44 | #1,077 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 41 | #1,116 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 27 | #1,468 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 36 | #1,215 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 39 | #1,111 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 32 | #1,246 | 0.03 |
| 1917 | 39 | #1,072 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 38 | #1,051 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 41 | #988 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 30 | #1,038 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 23 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 18 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,083 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 13 | #904 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 12 | #871 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,302 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,341 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 10 | #819 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 9 | #848 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 10 | #773 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 11 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,412 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 7 | #945 | 0.06 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,014 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 6 | #973 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 12 | #621 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 7 | #808 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,085 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 7 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 9 | #675 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 8 | #731 | 0.07 |
| 1882 | 10 | #624 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 6 | #875 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Kirk a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Kirk has been given almost only to boys: 197 girls in 136 years of records.
Girls and boys named Kirk: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kirk, and how old are they?
54,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 79% of the 68,264 Americans ever recorded as Kirk. The median Kirk alive today is 58 years old; half are between 47 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 55,261 people named Kirk (89 women and girls, 55,172 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 57,302 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 497 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 21,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 19,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 9,130 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,440 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 967 |
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 Kirk born?
The states with the most babies named Kirk are California, Michigan and Texas, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8,266 | #2,348 | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 4,749 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Texas | 3,813 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New York | 3,646 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 3,384 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,260 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 2,981 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 2,125 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Iowa | 2,120 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Indiana | 1,841 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Kirk is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kirk is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.3 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 Kirk 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 68,335 babies since 1880, Kirk is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 52 of their 52 babies (100%), 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.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Kirk
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Kirk and names like it
- Compare Kirk and KirkeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sKirk peaked in 1962.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kirk since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Kirk: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Kirk.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Kirk alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with KMost given first.