Lance
Lance was given to 279 boys in 2025, #862 among boys’ names; 106,184 Americans have been recorded with it since 1899 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 91,500 Americans named Lance and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 33 and 57.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lance by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lance mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lance is “a diminutive of the male given name Lancelot.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
The surname is derived from a medieval given name Lanzo, short form of names beginning with the Germanic element *land; see land. Doublet of Lanzo.
/læns/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lance?
#862 among boys’ names, 2025
Lance fell from #604 in 2015 to #862 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.24 to 0.16 per 1,000.
4,173 babies in 1970, the peak
Lance peaked in 1970, when 4,173 babies were given it (4,160 boys, #76 among boys’ names). The 279 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 279 | #862 | 0.16 |
| 2024 | 291 | #840 | 0.17 |
| 2023 | 302 | #814 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 320 | #788 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 305 | #804 | 0.17 |
| 2020 | 315 | #765 | 0.18 |
| 2019 | 398 | #664 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 394 | #651 | 0.22 |
| 2017 | 409 | #636 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 438 | #617 | 0.23 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 454 | #604 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 512 | #541 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 459 | #568 | 0.24 |
| 2012 | 541 | #494 | 0.29 |
| 2011 | 575 | #468 | 0.30 |
| 2010 | 604 | #444 | 0.31 |
| 2009 | 639 | #438 | 0.32 |
| 2008 | 751 | #395 | 0.37 |
| 2007 | 826 | #372 | 0.40 |
| 2006 | 1,003 | #319 | 0.49 |
| 2005 | 1,256 | #264 | 0.63 |
| 2004 | 1,161 | #275 | 0.58 |
| 2003 | 1,167 | #269 | 0.59 |
| 2002 | 1,232 | #261 | 0.63 |
| 2001 | 1,286 | #256 | 0.66 |
| 2000 | 1,221 | #267 | 0.62 |
| 1999 | 1,003 | #287 | 0.52 |
| 1998 | 880 | #316 | 0.46 |
| 1997 | 918 | #298 | 0.49 |
| 1996 | 1,048 | #268 | 0.55 |
| 1995 | 1,095 | #257 | 0.58 |
| 1994 | 1,119 | #258 | 0.58 |
| 1993 | 1,259 | #230 | 0.64 |
| 1992 | 1,507 | #204 | 0.75 |
| 1991 | 1,574 | #197 | 0.78 |
| 1990 | 1,697 | #182 | 0.83 |
| 1989 | 1,823 | #165 | 0.91 |
| 1988 | 1,894 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1987 | 1,993 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1986 | 2,051 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1985 | 2,152 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1984 | 2,135 | #127 | 1.2 |
| 1983 | 1,962 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1982 | 1,974 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1981 | 1,682 | #160 | 0.94 |
| 1980 | 1,786 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1979 | 1,867 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1978 | 1,971 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1977 | 1,925 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1976 | 1,734 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1975 | 1,497 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 1974 | 1,527 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1973 | 1,682 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1972 | 2,253 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 1971 | 3,175 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1970 | 4,160 | #76 | 2.2 |
| 1969 | 3,026 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1968 | 1,991 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1967 | 1,803 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1966 | 1,819 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1965 | 1,754 | #169 | 0.94 |
| 1964 | 2,089 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1963 | 1,866 | #166 | 0.92 |
| 1962 | 2,003 | #160 | 1.0 |
| 1961 | 1,807 | #173 | 0.85 |
| 1960 | 1,876 | #171 | 0.88 |
| 1959 | 1,430 | #203 | 0.67 |
| 1958 | 1,133 | #231 | 0.53 |
| 1957 | 1,158 | #222 | 0.54 |
| 1956 | 1,116 | #218 | 0.53 |
| 1955 | 1,059 | #221 | 0.51 |
| 1954 | 921 | #231 | 0.45 |
| 1953 | 710 | #262 | 0.36 |
| 1952 | 707 | #257 | 0.36 |
| 1951 | 751 | #245 | 0.40 |
| 1950 | 735 | #249 | 0.41 |
| 1949 | 617 | #263 | 0.35 |
| 1948 | 609 | #268 | 0.35 |
| 1947 | 606 | #275 | 0.33 |
| 1946 | 414 | #316 | 0.25 |
| 1945 | 400 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1944 | 404 | #298 | 0.30 |
| 1943 | 295 | #357 | 0.21 |
| 1942 | 338 | #330 | 0.24 |
| 1941 | 247 | #371 | 0.20 |
| 1940 | 254 | #358 | 0.22 |
| 1939 | 291 | #322 | 0.26 |
| 1938 | 267 | #339 | 0.24 |
| 1937 | 70 | #726 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 72 | #705 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 41 | #1,002 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 18 | #1,703 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 35 | #1,113 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 24 | #1,444 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 24 | #1,441 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 28 | #1,358 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 24 | #1,547 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 31 | #1,339 | 0.03 |
| 1926 | 29 | #1,368 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,478 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 26 | #1,513 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 24 | #1,574 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 38 | #1,173 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 40 | #1,132 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 36 | #1,216 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,335 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 25 | #1,478 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 32 | #1,212 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 21 | #1,572 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 23 | #1,435 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 25 | #1,177 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,546 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,427 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 5 | #1,882 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 5 | #1,733 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 6 | #1,379 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,070 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,188 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,039 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,140 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,218 | 0.04 |
| 1902 | 8 | #893 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 7 | #900 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,006 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,140 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Lance a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lance has been given almost only to boys: 345 girls in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lance: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lance, and how old are they?
91,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 106,184 Americans ever recorded as Lance. The median Lance alive today is 46 years old; half are between 33 and 57.
The 2020 Census counted 86,540 people named Lance (165 women and girls, 86,375 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 93,578 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 886 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 15,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 30,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 25,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 14,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,840 |
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 Lance born?
The states with the most babies named Lance are California, Texas and New York, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 11,641 | #923 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 8,294 | #1,029 | 1.0× |
| New York | 6,122 | #1,926 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 4,675 | #907 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 4,444 | #961 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 4,145 | #839 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,921 | #818 | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 3,773 | #475 | 1.8× |
| Florida | 3,400 | #792 | 0.9× |
| Missouri | 2,870 | #581 | 1.2× |
Where Lance is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lance is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 3.1 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 Lance with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Lance
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 Lance and names like it
- Compare Lance and ReinaldoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sLance peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lance since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Lance: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Lance.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Lance alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with LMost given first.