Magnus
Magnus was given to 337 boys in 2025, #765 among boys’ names; 6,172 Americans have been recorded with it since 1890 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,720 Americans named Magnus and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (93% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 5 and 16.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Magnus by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Magnus mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Magnus is “a male given name from Latin of mostly Scottish and Scandinavian usage.” Its etymology gives the senses “great” (magnus) and “Charlemagne” (Magnus).
Borrowed from Latin magnus (“great”), taken from the title of Carolus Magnus “Charlemagne” by an eleventh century king of Norway, and brought to Scotland in medieval times.
/ˈmæɡnəs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Magnus?
#765 among boys’ names, 2025
Magnus rose from #856 in 2015 to #765 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.14 to 0.20 per 1,000.
354 babies in 2021, the peak
Magnus peaked in 2021, when 354 boys were given it, #730 among boys’ names. The 337 births of 2025 are 95% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 337 | #765 | 0.20 |
| 2024 | 343 | #747 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 338 | #763 | 0.20 |
| 2022 | 327 | #774 | 0.19 |
| 2021 | 354 | #730 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 290 | #801 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 299 | #781 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 295 | #781 | 0.16 |
| 2017 | 335 | #719 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 296 | #796 | 0.16 |
Every recorded year (96)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 263 | #856 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 215 | #978 | 0.11 |
| 2013 | 209 | #959 | 0.11 |
| 2012 | 162 | #1,133 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 154 | #1,164 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 161 | #1,152 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 125 | #1,374 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 161 | #1,136 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 143 | #1,234 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 126 | #1,314 | 0.06 |
| 2005 | 114 | #1,330 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 70 | #1,794 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 87 | #1,491 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 76 | #1,598 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 79 | #1,533 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 47 | #2,157 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 48 | #2,010 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 47 | #2,029 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 28 | #2,791 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 25 | #2,984 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 14 | #4,422 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 13 | #4,696 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 8 | #6,602 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 9 | #5,945 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 7 | #6,989 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 13 | #4,309 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 8 | #5,991 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 9 | #5,050 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 6 | #6,627 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 10 | #4,336 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5,519 | under 0.01 |
| 1984 | 11 | #3,834 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 6 | #5,939 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 8 | #4,850 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 9 | #4,370 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 8 | #4,674 | under 0.01 |
| 1978 | 12 | #3,323 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 5 | #5,367 | under 0.01 |
| 1970 | 5 | #5,167 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 5 | #4,406 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 6 | #3,873 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 7 | #3,536 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 5 | #4,295 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 5 | #4,268 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 7 | #3,335 | under 0.01 |
| 1953 | 6 | #3,652 | under 0.01 |
| 1952 | 8 | #3,009 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 8 | #2,937 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 5 | #3,599 | under 0.01 |
| 1943 | 6 | #3,431 | under 0.01 |
| 1942 | 7 | #3,102 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 5 | #3,819 | under 0.01 |
| 1939 | 8 | #2,733 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 8 | #2,785 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 8 | #2,772 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 6 | #3,538 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 7 | #3,178 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 12 | #2,272 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,288 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 10 | #2,715 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 10 | #2,772 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 13 | #2,370 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,505 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 12 | #2,533 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 15 | #2,180 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 20 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,197 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 14 | #2,325 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 21 | #1,729 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 11 | #2,605 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 17 | #1,960 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 21 | #1,620 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 16 | #1,908 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 17 | #1,749 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 19 | #1,423 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 15 | #1,418 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 6 | #1,662 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,225 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 5 | #1,520 | 0.03 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,179 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,097 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,156 | 0.05 |
| 1894 | 6 | #1,034 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,134 | 0.04 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,063 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,095 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Magnus a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Magnus has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 96 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Magnus: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Magnus, and how old are they?
5,720 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 93% of the 6,172 Americans ever recorded as Magnus. The median Magnus alive today is 9 years old; half are between 5 and 16.
The 2020 Census counted 4,326 people named Magnus (22 women and girls, 4,304 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,846 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% 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 | 16 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 39 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 27 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 155 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,610 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,870 |
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 Magnus born?
The states with the most babies named Magnus are California, Texas and New York, with 30% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 37 | #725 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 28 | #907 | 0.5× |
| New York | 20 | #738 | 0.7× |
| Washington | 16 | #466 | 2.4× |
| Florida | 15 | #941 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 14 | #662 | 0.6× |
| Arizona | 14 | #515 | 0.6× |
| Utah | 11 | #429 | 1.4× |
| Wisconsin | 11 | #465 | 0.9× |
| Oregon | 11 | #363 | 1.3× |
Where Magnus is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Magnus is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 2.4 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 Magnus 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 Magnus
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 Magnus and names like it
- Compare Magnus and RomanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sMagnus peaked in 2021.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Magnus since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Magnus: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Magnus.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Magnus alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with MMost given first.