Lafayette
Lafayette was given to 7 boys in 2025, #10,258 among boys’ names; 4,882 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,290 Americans named Lafayette and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (47% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 35 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lafayette by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lafayette mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lafayette is “a male given name transferred from the surname, originally in honor of the Marquis.” Its etymology gives the sense “the little beech tree” (Occitan,).
French surname from Occitan, “the little beech tree”.
/ˌlæfiːˈɛt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lafayette?
#10,258 among boys’ names, 2025
Lafayette fell from #7,810 in 2015 to #10,258 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 5.2 to 4.1 per million.
86 babies in 1921, the peak
Lafayette peaked in 1921, when 86 boys were given it, #701 among boys’ names. The 7 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #10,258 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 8 | #9,495 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 10 | #8,027 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 14 | #6,342 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 15 | #5,914 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 11 | #7,293 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 10 | #7,963 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 15 | #5,931 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 8 | #9,351 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 14 | #6,206 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 10 | #7,810 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 14 | #6,177 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 18 | #5,085 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 20 | #4,796 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 15 | #5,836 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 13 | #6,570 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #7,060 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 11 | #7,496 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 16 | #5,575 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 14 | #5,967 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 14 | #5,754 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #5,658 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 18 | #4,536 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,388 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 17 | #4,596 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 15 | #4,929 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 20 | #3,775 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 23 | #3,346 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 27 | #2,866 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 25 | #2,979 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 31 | #2,471 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 37 | #2,200 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 29 | #2,541 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 29 | #2,497 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 35 | #2,115 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 33 | #2,189 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 33 | #2,124 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 33 | #1,968 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 36 | #1,816 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 29 | #2,030 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 47 | #1,442 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 29 | #1,917 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 29 | #1,884 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 28 | #1,967 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 42 | #1,487 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 36 | #1,644 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 35 | #1,652 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 46 | #1,363 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 37 | #1,529 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 32 | #1,661 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 26 | #1,860 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 42 | #1,324 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 55 | #1,099 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 54 | #1,115 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 34 | #1,482 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 40 | #1,322 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 35 | #1,368 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 46 | #1,111 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 56 | #976 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 39 | #1,209 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 50 | #1,048 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 37 | #1,298 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 54 | #1,033 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 59 | #998 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 47 | #1,153 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 43 | #1,199 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 36 | #1,312 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 45 | #1,152 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 38 | #1,272 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 55 | #1,013 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 61 | #960 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 50 | #1,059 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 52 | #1,007 | 0.03 |
| 1952 | 52 | #996 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 56 | #936 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 54 | #941 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 54 | #943 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 57 | #916 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 45 | #1,087 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 54 | #902 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 54 | #856 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 39 | #1,064 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 38 | #1,117 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 45 | #997 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 49 | #912 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 44 | #976 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 41 | #998 | 0.04 |
| 1938 | 45 | #946 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 51 | #860 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 64 | #762 | 0.06 |
| 1935 | 49 | #909 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 71 | #726 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 60 | #795 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 47 | #956 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 56 | #850 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 43 | #1,062 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 46 | #1,001 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 41 | #1,105 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 43 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 48 | #1,001 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 60 | #864 | 0.05 |
| 1924 | 63 | #867 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 53 | #944 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 69 | #814 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 86 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 67 | #821 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 61 | #843 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 79 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 65 | #782 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 54 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 51 | #865 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 43 | #807 | 0.07 |
| 1913 | 41 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 35 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 13 | #952 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 15 | #804 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 11 | #929 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 17 | #646 | 0.11 |
| 1907 | 21 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 10 | #827 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 8 | #967 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 13 | #667 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 13 | #639 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 13 | #628 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,135 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 17 | #610 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 9 | #756 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 15 | #556 | 0.12 |
| 1897 | 18 | #467 | 0.16 |
| 1896 | 14 | #574 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 23 | #407 | 0.20 |
| 1894 | 19 | #451 | 0.16 |
| 1893 | 9 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 18 | #472 | 0.15 |
| 1891 | 8 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 12 | #583 | 0.11 |
| 1889 | 16 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1888 | 19 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1887 | 24 | #336 | 0.24 |
| 1886 | 27 | #326 | 0.24 |
| 1885 | 23 | #372 | 0.21 |
| 1884 | 27 | #342 | 0.24 |
| 1883 | 11 | #575 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 20 | #409 | 0.18 |
| 1881 | 21 | #370 | 0.21 |
| 1880 | 22 | #368 | 0.20 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Lafayette a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lafayette has been given almost only to boys: 21 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lafayette: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lafayette, and how old are they?
2,290 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 47% of the 4,882 Americans ever recorded as Lafayette. The median Lafayette alive today is 53 years old; half are between 35 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 1,972 people named Lafayette (86 women and girls, 1,886 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,492 born in the U.S. The Census count is 21% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 166 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 625 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 589 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 498 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 253 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 153 |
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 Lafayette born?
The states with the most babies named Lafayette are Texas, North Carolina and California, with 48% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 222 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 189 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| California | 171 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Alabama | 115 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 102 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Virginia | 84 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 70 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Mississippi | 58 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 37 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| South Carolina | 33 | not ranked | 0.4× |
Where Lafayette is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lafayette is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 1.4 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 Lafayette 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 5,904 babies since 1880, Lafayette is the most given (83% of them).
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 Lafayette
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 Lafayette and names like it
- Compare Lafayette and FayetteBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLafayette peaked in 1921.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lafayette since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Lafayette: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Lafayette.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lafayette alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.