Top 50 US name Boys' name Peak 2011 336,209 births

Mason — #42 US boys' name

336,209 babies named Mason in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2011. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1541890s1711900s2191910s8781920s12121930s8331940s8671950s8481960s9581970s22981980s55411990s328792000s904992010s1578752020s40977
#42
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.7% of names given to boys today.

2010s
Peak decade

47% of everyone ever named Mason was born in this single decade.

2011
Single peak year

19,528 babies were named Mason in 2011 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Mason

The Social Security Administration has registered 336,209 babies named Mason between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Mason currently holds the #42 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2011, when 19,528 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Mason performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 157,875 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Mason shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 30,769 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Mason in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Mason in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 336,209 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Mason at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

336,209

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2011

19,528 births that year

Strongest decade: 2010s

Current rank

#42

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Mason popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2011)
19,528
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,00020,00025,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 22

Mason popularity over time — girls

3,297 total births recorded since 1916 (Mason as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 3,297 births
-50050100150200 20242017201020031996198919821916 7

Mason by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2010s
Peak decade
2010s
157,875 births that decade — 47% of Mason's all-time total
1880s1541890s1711900s2191910s8781920s12121930s8331940s8671950s8481960s9581970s22981980s55411990s328792000s904992010s1578752020s40977

Mason by state

Where Mason concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Mason
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
30,769 9.2%
#2 Texas
26,937 8.0%
#3 New York
16,337 4.9%
#4 Florida
16,309 4.9%
#5 Pennsylvania
14,934 4.4%
#6 Ohio
14,804 4.4%
#7 Illinois
11,793 3.5%
#8 North Carolina
11,413 3.4%
California share of Mason's total US births 9.2%
Even split

30,769 of 336,209 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Mason appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Mason?
336,209 babies have been named Mason since 1880. It currently ranks #42 among boys. The peak year was 2011 with 19,528 births.
When was Mason most popular?
Mason was most popular in the 2010s decade with 157,875 total births. The single peak year was 2011.
Where is Mason most popular?
The top states for the name Mason are California (30,769 births), Texas (26,937 births), New York (16,337 births).
How long has the name Mason been used?
Mason has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Mason?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Massimo, Masen, Masyn, Massiah, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Mason

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.