Boys' name · since 1880

Lew

Lew has 2,193 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1959 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#3,107 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#12,014 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
2,193
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade

Lew currently ranks #12014 among boys' names in America, with 2,193 babies recorded since 1880.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lew has been recorded 2,193 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #12014 nationally and more common than 14% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #3,107 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #12,014 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 2,193 born since 1880
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lew ranks #3,107 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,014 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 2,193 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.

#3,107 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#12,014 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
2,193
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%13.7%
Lew vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Lew's 2,193 recorded births place it above 93.16% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

7 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

7 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Lew compares

2,193 Top 21% higher than 79% 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

Lew's all-time total is 6x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Lew Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 2,193 369 358,536
Peak-year births 55 34 22,252

Lew's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Lew's full recorded timeline at 1940, 54% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 46% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1903, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1959 peak of 55 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Lew popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1959)
55
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
0204060 188018941912192619401954196819822025 5

Lew popularity over time - girls

15 total births recorded since 1929 (Lew as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 15 births
5 192919561957 5

Lew by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (394 births, 18% of the file).

1950s was Lew's strongest decade.

394 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.

Lew births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 394 births (18% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Lew 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 Lew's total volume

Lew vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -42, 4.2%-116, 2.7%-50, 9.1%-108, 3.9%-114, 1.7%-67, 4.8%-44, 6.9%-25, 8.7%-51, 11.1%-110, 2.8%-79, 3.2%-135, 2.3%-99, 3.3%-65, 4.4%-108, 2.7%Lew-146, 2.5%Lew
Lew vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Lew by state

Where Lew concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 7 states by recorded births for the name Lew
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
34 1.6%
#2 California
32 1.5%
#3 Illinois
13 0.6%
#4 Oklahoma
11 0.5%
#5 Ohio
10 0.5%
#6 Texas
5 0.2%
#7 Wisconsin
5 0.2%
New York share of Lew's total US births 1.6%
Even split

34 of 2,193 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 7 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Lew? ▼
2,193 babies have been named Lew since 1880. All-time, it sits at #3,107 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #12,014 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1959 with 55 births.
Where does Lew sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lew ranks #3,107 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,014 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Lew most popular? ▼
Lew was most popular in the 1950s decade with 394 total births. The single peak year was 1959.
Where is Lew most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Lew are New York (34 births), California (32 births), Illinois (13 births).
How long has the name Lew been used? ▼
Lew has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Lew? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Lewis, Lewie, Lewellyn, Lewin, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Lew's data

  • Lew's decade-level peak was the 1950s (394 total births); usage has since declined to 22 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • New York records the most Lews (34 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Lew

Nearby Names Like Lew

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lew

Lewis Boy
#433 155,766 births
Lewie Boy
870 births
Lewellyn Boy
306 births
Lewin Boy
#5422 275 births
Lewi Boy
#7107 144 births

Compare Lew side by side: Lew vs Lewis Lew vs Lewie Lew vs Lewellyn

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Lew

Granville #12013
5,501 births · Peak 1918
Arther #12015
4,993 births · Peak 1922
Dewitt #12012
7,216 births · Peak 1921
Cicero #12016
1,453 births · Peak 1920
Berry #12011
5,737 births · Peak 1963
Loyd #12017
22,436 births · Peak 1926
Barney #12010
16,090 births · Peak 1919
Willam #12018
3,516 births · Peak 1959

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Lew: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1880–2025 (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 Lew 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.