Love
Love was given to 269 girls in 2025, #957 among girls’ names; 5,785 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,700 Americans named Love and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 4 and 21.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Love by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Love mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Love is “a female given name.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Love?
#957 among girls’ names, 2025
Love rose from #1,837 in 2015 to #957 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.06 to 0.17 per 1,000.
418 babies in 2022, the peak
Love peaked in 2022, when 418 babies were given it (386 girls, #750 among girls’ names). The 290 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 69% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 269 | #957 | 21 | #4,803 |
| 2024 | 319 | #849 | 25 | #4,276 |
| 2023 | 384 | #732 | 28 | #3,950 |
| 2022 | 386 | #750 | 32 | #3,581 |
| 2021 | 251 | #1,018 | 21 | #4,709 |
| 2020 | 245 | #1,026 | 14 | #6,164 |
| 2019 | 128 | #1,651 | 12 | #7,014 |
| 2018 | 144 | #1,517 | 9 | #8,565 |
| 2017 | 123 | #1,733 | 10 | #7,919 |
| 2016 | 100 | #1,990 | 5 | #13,426 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 113 | #1,837 | 10 | #7,827 |
| 2014 | 127 | #1,669 | 13 | #6,491 |
| 2013 | 141 | #1,552 | under 5 | |
| 2012 | 112 | #1,817 | 10 | #7,904 |
| 2011 | 71 | #2,544 | under 5 | |
| 2010 | 90 | #2,181 | 12 | #6,932 |
| 2009 | 85 | #2,304 | under 5 | |
| 2008 | 81 | #2,393 | 5 | #13,789 |
| 2007 | 77 | #2,449 | 12 | #6,908 |
| 2006 | 52 | #3,203 | 6 | #11,497 |
| 2005 | 49 | #3,191 | 12 | #6,464 |
| 2004 | 51 | #3,049 | 9 | #7,932 |
| 2003 | 47 | #3,158 | 10 | #7,038 |
| 2002 | 47 | #3,082 | 5 | #11,767 |
| 2001 | 48 | #2,991 | 9 | #7,268 |
| 2000 | 56 | #2,654 | 6 | #9,834 |
| 1999 | 30 | #3,927 | 10 | #6,319 |
| 1998 | 26 | #4,315 | 7 | #8,105 |
| 1997 | 16 | #6,047 | under 5 | |
| 1996 | 23 | #4,519 | 7 | #7,647 |
| 1995 | 17 | #5,584 | 6 | #8,451 |
| 1994 | 12 | #7,392 | 7 | #7,445 |
| 1993 | 13 | #6,878 | 8 | #6,595 |
| 1992 | 10 | #8,464 | 6 | #8,040 |
| 1991 | 11 | #7,729 | 8 | #6,285 |
| 1990 | 10 | #8,249 | under 5 | |
| 1989 | 12 | #6,780 | 6 | #7,539 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,203 | 6 | #6,920 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,469 | under 5 | |
| 1986 | 11 | #6,405 | 5 | #7,393 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,542 | 6 | #6,223 |
| 1984 | 13 | #5,402 | under 5 | |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,590 | 6 | #5,933 |
| 1982 | 21 | #3,853 | under 5 | |
| 1981 | 15 | #4,855 | under 5 | |
| 1980 | 17 | #4,431 | under 5 | |
| 1979 | 22 | #3,614 | 7 | #5,158 |
| 1978 | 21 | #3,581 | 6 | #5,502 |
| 1977 | 32 | #2,642 | under 5 | |
| 1976 | 34 | #2,417 | 7 | #4,724 |
| 1975 | 26 | #2,853 | 11 | #3,352 |
| 1974 | 29 | #2,584 | 9 | #3,727 |
| 1973 | 24 | #2,879 | 7 | #4,333 |
| 1972 | 31 | #2,379 | 5 | #5,453 |
| 1971 | 23 | #3,020 | 7 | #4,208 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,376 | under 5 | |
| 1969 | 12 | #4,320 | under 5 | |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,680 | under 5 | |
| 1967 | 8 | #5,245 | under 5 | |
| 1966 | 6 | #6,238 | under 5 | |
| 1965 | 5 | #7,113 | 5 | #4,240 |
| 1964 | 7 | #5,792 | under 5 | |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,647 | under 5 | |
| 1962 | 6 | #6,273 | under 5 | |
| 1961 | 5 | #7,134 | under 5 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 5 | #4,343 | |
| 1956 | 8 | #4,685 | under 5 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 5 | #4,154 | |
| 1952 | 5 | #6,055 | under 5 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 11 | #2,447 | |
| 1950 | 9 | #3,835 | 7 | #3,207 |
| 1949 | under 5 | 7 | #3,188 | |
| 1947 | 5 | #5,764 | 6 | #3,596 |
| 1946 | 7 | #4,246 | under 5 | |
| 1945 | 5 | #4,954 | under 5 | |
| 1944 | 10 | #3,063 | 8 | #2,771 |
| 1943 | under 5 | 5 | #3,843 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 5 | #3,865 | |
| 1941 | 6 | #4,223 | 7 | #3,029 |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,759 | under 5 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 10 | #2,380 | |
| 1938 | 5 | #4,713 | 11 | #2,272 |
| 1937 | under 5 | 6 | #3,371 | |
| 1935 | 6 | #4,026 | 9 | #2,641 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,655 | 10 | #2,494 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,283 | under 5 | |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,851 | 12 | #2,267 |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,705 | 12 | #2,277 |
| 1930 | 22 | #1,728 | 9 | #2,914 |
| 1929 | 17 | #2,061 | 9 | #2,875 |
| 1928 | 11 | #2,890 | 16 | #2,015 |
| 1927 | 11 | #2,980 | 9 | #3,057 |
| 1926 | 16 | #2,309 | 11 | #2,662 |
| 1925 | 13 | #2,709 | 11 | #2,684 |
| 1924 | 17 | #2,266 | 18 | #1,938 |
| 1923 | 10 | #3,256 | 13 | #2,398 |
| 1922 | 12 | #2,887 | 17 | #1,999 |
| 1921 | 17 | #2,251 | 13 | #2,451 |
| 1920 | 15 | #2,421 | 12 | #2,541 |
| 1919 | 11 | #2,911 | 15 | #2,110 |
| 1918 | 16 | #2,248 | 11 | #2,635 |
| 1917 | 16 | #2,151 | 14 | #2,147 |
| 1916 | 19 | #1,844 | 15 | #2,011 |
| 1915 | 19 | #1,767 | 14 | #2,028 |
| 1914 | 10 | #2,359 | 17 | #1,530 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,845 | 5 | #3,084 |
| 1912 | under 5 | 5 | #2,757 | |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,506 | 11 | #1,091 |
| 1910 | 12 | #1,392 | 8 | #1,268 |
| 1909 | under 5 | 10 | #993 | |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,306 | 7 | #1,173 |
| 1907 | 9 | #1,467 | 6 | #1,281 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,501 | 8 | #971 |
| 1905 | 9 | #1,368 | 7 | #1,045 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,043 | 5 | #1,322 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,516 | under 5 | |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,937 | 9 | #837 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,414 | under 5 | |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,513 | 7 | #1,123 |
| 1898 | 10 | #1,149 | 6 | #1,075 |
| 1897 | 7 | #1,333 | under 5 | |
| 1896 | 7 | #1,369 | under 5 | |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,517 | 5 | #1,187 |
| 1894 | 10 | #1,035 | 8 | #830 |
| 1893 | 11 | #939 | 5 | #1,130 |
| 1892 | 10 | #992 | under 5 | |
| 1891 | 10 | #926 | 5 | #1,058 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,060 | 12 | #585 |
| 1889 | 10 | #874 | 6 | #942 |
| 1888 | 7 | #1,095 | 9 | #735 |
| 1887 | under 5 | 7 | #800 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 9 | #675 | |
| 1885 | 8 | #824 | 7 | #810 |
| 1884 | under 5 | 8 | #735 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 5 | #1,032 | |
| 1880 | 5 | #894 | under 5 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Love a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 5,785 Americans recorded as Love, 83% are girls and 17% boys. In 2025 it went to 269 girls and 21 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Love: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Love, and how old are they?
4,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 5,785 Americans ever recorded as Love. The median Love alive today is 9 years old; half are between 4 and 21.
The 2020 Census counted 3,247 people named Love (2,650 women and girls, 597 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,855 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 45 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 70 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 352 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 280 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,040 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,910 |
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 Love born?
The states with the most babies named Love are California, Texas and Ohio, with 42% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 36 | #822 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 35 | #852 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 15 | #660 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 14 | #1,091 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 13 | #755 | 0.5× |
| New York | 12 | #1,208 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | #901 | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 10 | #765 | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 9 | #975 | 0.4× |
| Virginia | 9 | #810 | 0.4× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ 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 Love 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 13,794 babies since 1880, Love is the second most given (42% of them). In 2025 it was given to 290 of their 349 babies (83%), the most given that year.
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 Love
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 Love and names like it
- Compare Love and LovieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sLove peaked in 2022.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Love since 1910.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Love.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Love alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.