Boys' name · since 1899
Lance
105,839 babies named Lance in U.S. Social Security records since 1899, with the highest year being 1970. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #302 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #862 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 105,839
- born since 1899
- 1970s
- peak decade
105,839 babies have been named Lance since 1899, making it today's #862 boys' name.
Social Security Administration records show Lance recorded 105,839 times among boys since 1899, holding rank #862 nationally today, ahead of 94% of boys, peaking in the 1970s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1899 to 2025.
- #302 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #862 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 105,839 born since 1899
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lance ranks #302 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #862 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 105,839 born since 1899, peaking in the 1970s.
- #302 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #862 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 105,839
- born since 1899
- 1970s
- peak decade
Lance's 105,839 recorded births place it above 99.33% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Lance compares
105,839 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Lance's all-time total is 287x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Lance | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 105,839 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 4,160 | 34 | 22,252 |
Lance's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Lance splits its recorded history at 1963: 80% of all births land in the more recent half, 20% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1899 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1970 peak of 4,160 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Lance popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1899–2025
- Peak year (1970)
- 4,160
- Annual births at peak, across 127 years of records
Lance popularity over time - girls
345 total births recorded since 1956 (Lance as girls' name)
Lance by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (21,791 births, 21% of the file).
1970s was Lance's strongest decade.
21,791 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Lance births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1900s 61
1900s
61 births
- 1910s 184
1910s
184 births
- 1920s 302
1920s
302 births
- 1930s 868
1930s
868 births
- 1940s 4,184
1940s
4,184 births
- 1950s
1950s
9,720 births
- 1960s
1960s
20,034 births
- 1970s
1970s
21,791 births
- 1980s
1980s
19,452 births
- 1990s
1990s
12,100 births
- 2000s
2000s
10,542 births
- 2010s 4,784
2010s
4,784 births
- 2020s 1,812
2020s
1,812 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 21,791 births (21% of all-time use).
How Lance compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Lance's total volume
Lance by state
Where Lance concentrates geographically, total births since 1899
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 11,641 | 11.0% |
| #2 | Texas | | 8,294 | 7.8% |
| #3 | New York | | 6,122 | 5.8% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 4,675 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 4,444 | 4.2% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 4,145 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 3,921 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Louisiana | | 3,773 | 3.6% |
11,641 of 105,839 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Lance appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Lance? ▼
Where does Lance sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Lance most popular? ▼
Where is Lance most popular? ▼
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What to do with Lance's data
- Lance's decade-level peak was the 1970s (21,791 total births); usage has since declined to 1,812 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Lances (11,641 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Lance
Nearby Names Like Lance
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lance
Compare Lance side by side: Lance vs Landon Lance vs Lane Lance vs Landen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Lance
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Lance: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1970)
Similar record span (~126 yrs)
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, 1899–2025 (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 Lance 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.