Lincoln
Lincoln was given to 4,703 boys in 2025, #69 among boys’ names; 106,968 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 102,000 Americans named Lincoln and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 5 and 13.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lincoln by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lincoln mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lincoln is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of American usage, originally in honor of Abraham Lincoln.” Its etymology gives the senses “the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia” (Colōnia) and “pool” (*llɨnn) and “lake, liquid” (*lindos).
Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford.
/ˈlɪŋ.kən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lincoln?
#69 among boys’ names, 2025
Lincoln fell from #66 in 2015 to #69 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 3.1 to 2.8 per 1,000.
8,443 babies in 2017, the peak
Lincoln peaked in 2017, when 8,443 babies were given it (8,202 boys, #41 among boys’ names). The 4,778 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 57% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,703 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 4,580 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 2023 | 4,866 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 2022 | 5,625 | #54 | 3.2 |
| 2021 | 6,700 | #45 | 3.8 |
| 2020 | 7,061 | #40 | 4.1 |
| 2019 | 7,473 | #41 | 4.2 |
| 2018 | 7,408 | #41 | 4.1 |
| 2017 | 8,202 | #41 | 4.4 |
| 2016 | 7,129 | #51 | 3.8 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6,001 | #66 | 3.1 |
| 2014 | 4,824 | #87 | 2.5 |
| 2013 | 4,039 | #95 | 2.1 |
| 2012 | 2,912 | #132 | 1.5 |
| 2011 | 2,158 | #179 | 1.1 |
| 2010 | 1,871 | #199 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 2,012 | #189 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 1,818 | #211 | 0.89 |
| 2007 | 1,655 | #224 | 0.80 |
| 2006 | 1,109 | #301 | 0.54 |
| 2005 | 502 | #495 | 0.25 |
| 2004 | 413 | #555 | 0.21 |
| 2003 | 410 | #549 | 0.21 |
| 2002 | 329 | #610 | 0.17 |
| 2001 | 309 | #616 | 0.16 |
| 2000 | 247 | #710 | 0.13 |
| 1999 | 214 | #746 | 0.11 |
| 1998 | 165 | #882 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 156 | #887 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 149 | #897 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 191 | #774 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 187 | #769 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 178 | #792 | 0.09 |
| 1992 | 157 | #839 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 153 | #836 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 143 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1989 | 123 | #915 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 122 | #860 | 0.06 |
| 1987 | 124 | #841 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 86 | #999 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 117 | #828 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 141 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 112 | #824 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 119 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 119 | #806 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 95 | #916 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 98 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 95 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 149 | #696 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 151 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1975 | 147 | #679 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 108 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 103 | #785 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 140 | #680 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 181 | #618 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 146 | #687 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 105 | #765 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 71 | #863 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 98 | #747 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 116 | #689 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 128 | #656 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 202 | #557 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 193 | #568 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 143 | #648 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 119 | #701 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 85 | #828 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 79 | #856 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 72 | #890 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 97 | #762 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 72 | #884 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 85 | #795 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 68 | #898 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 87 | #761 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 95 | #722 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 76 | #807 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 87 | #738 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 90 | #724 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 75 | #790 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 94 | #709 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 75 | #771 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 89 | #644 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 76 | #713 | 0.06 |
| 1943 | 92 | #671 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 96 | #658 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 88 | #650 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 70 | #733 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 78 | #673 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 76 | #697 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 75 | #693 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 72 | #706 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 76 | #696 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 92 | #628 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 91 | #611 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 96 | #603 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 110 | #561 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 86 | #674 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 101 | #602 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 130 | #531 | 0.12 |
| 1927 | 131 | #539 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 144 | #506 | 0.13 |
| 1925 | 142 | #512 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 156 | #494 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 133 | #529 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 108 | #622 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 120 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1920 | 137 | #523 | 0.13 |
| 1919 | 117 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1918 | 128 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1917 | 127 | #511 | 0.14 |
| 1916 | 130 | #499 | 0.15 |
| 1915 | 118 | #513 | 0.14 |
| 1914 | 103 | #479 | 0.16 |
| 1913 | 63 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1912 | 49 | #576 | 0.11 |
| 1911 | 34 | #511 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 36 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1909 | 33 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1908 | 20 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1907 | 13 | #763 | 0.09 |
| 1906 | 18 | #558 | 0.14 |
| 1905 | 19 | #539 | 0.14 |
| 1904 | 15 | #602 | 0.12 |
| 1903 | 11 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1902 | 17 | #531 | 0.14 |
| 1901 | 10 | #709 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 20 | #545 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 14 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 8 | #851 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 14 | #570 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 13 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 26 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1894 | 10 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 11 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1892 | 17 | #489 | 0.14 |
| 1891 | 15 | #463 | 0.15 |
| 1890 | 13 | #553 | 0.12 |
| 1889 | 14 | #513 | 0.13 |
| 1888 | 15 | #515 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 8 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 6 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 11 | #589 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 12 | #545 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 13 | #528 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 5 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 10 | #620 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Lincoln a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 106,968 Americans recorded as Lincoln, 2% are girls and 98% boys. In 2025 it went to 75 girls and 4,703 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Lincoln: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lincoln, and how old are they?
102,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 106,968 Americans ever recorded as Lincoln. The median Lincoln alive today is 9 years old; half are between 5 and 13.
The 2020 Census counted 66,384 people named Lincoln (1,326 women and girls, 65,058 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 69,971 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 292 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,290 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,710 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,170 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 79,800 |
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 Lincoln born?
The states with the most babies named Lincoln are Ohio, Texas and California, with 19% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 348 | #12 | 1.5× |
| Texas | 339 | #119 | 0.7× |
| California | 231 | #169 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 231 | #18 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 230 | #48 | 1.0× |
| Florida | 221 | #103 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 183 | #59 | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 171 | #25 | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 165 | #65 | 0.9× |
| New York | 153 | #123 | 0.6× |
Where Lincoln is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lincoln is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.2 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 Lincoln 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 108,226 babies since 1880, Lincoln is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 4,778 of their 4,806 babies (99%), 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 Lincoln
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 Lincoln and names like it
- Compare Lincoln and LyncolnBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sLincoln peaked in 2017.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lincoln since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Lincoln: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2017The year the most babies were named Lincoln.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Lincoln alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.