Noah
Noah was given to 20,358 boys in 2025, #2 among boys’ names; 534,622 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 518,000 Americans named Noah and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 14 years old and half are between 7 and 22.
Noah is the #50 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Noah by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Noah mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Noah is “a male given name from Hebrew.”
From Biblical Hebrew נֹחַ (Nōaḥ).
/ˈnoʊə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Noah?
#2 among boys’ names, 2025
Noah fell from #1 in 2015 to #2 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 10.3 to 11.9 per 1,000.
20,951 babies in 2024, the peak
Noah peaked in 2024, when 20,951 babies were given it (20,409 boys, #2 among boys’ names). The 20,826 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 99% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20,358 | #2 | 11.9 |
| 2024 | 20,409 | #2 | 11.8 |
| 2023 | 19,116 | #2 | 11.2 |
| 2022 | 18,758 | #2 | 10.7 |
| 2021 | 18,919 | #2 | 10.8 |
| 2020 | 18,464 | #2 | 10.7 |
| 2019 | 19,178 | #2 | 10.7 |
| 2018 | 18,441 | #2 | 10.2 |
| 2017 | 18,507 | #2 | 10.0 |
| 2016 | 19,188 | #1 | 10.1 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 19,680 | #1 | 10.3 |
| 2014 | 19,344 | #1 | 10.1 |
| 2013 | 18,291 | #1 | 9.7 |
| 2012 | 17,385 | #4 | 9.2 |
| 2011 | 16,883 | #5 | 8.9 |
| 2010 | 16,481 | #7 | 8.6 |
| 2009 | 17,262 | #9 | 8.7 |
| 2008 | 15,808 | #15 | 7.7 |
| 2007 | 16,605 | #14 | 8.0 |
| 2006 | 16,342 | #15 | 8.0 |
| 2005 | 13,905 | #23 | 7.0 |
| 2004 | 11,916 | #29 | 6.0 |
| 2003 | 11,843 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 2002 | 12,076 | #31 | 6.2 |
| 2001 | 13,494 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 2000 | 14,282 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1999 | 14,931 | #24 | 7.8 |
| 1998 | 13,415 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1997 | 9,280 | #38 | 4.9 |
| 1996 | 7,184 | #50 | 3.8 |
| 1995 | 3,824 | #99 | 2.0 |
| 1994 | 2,081 | #159 | 1.1 |
| 1993 | 1,504 | #202 | 0.77 |
| 1992 | 1,424 | #217 | 0.71 |
| 1991 | 1,316 | #225 | 0.65 |
| 1990 | 1,310 | #228 | 0.64 |
| 1989 | 1,242 | #219 | 0.62 |
| 1988 | 1,067 | #230 | 0.56 |
| 1987 | 996 | #236 | 0.53 |
| 1986 | 1,038 | #227 | 0.56 |
| 1985 | 1,109 | #217 | 0.60 |
| 1984 | 1,246 | #194 | 0.69 |
| 1983 | 1,542 | #169 | 0.86 |
| 1982 | 1,817 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1981 | 1,400 | #180 | 0.78 |
| 1980 | 928 | #241 | 0.52 |
| 1979 | 913 | #240 | 0.53 |
| 1978 | 689 | #283 | 0.42 |
| 1977 | 683 | #285 | 0.42 |
| 1976 | 543 | #324 | 0.35 |
| 1975 | 580 | #311 | 0.37 |
| 1974 | 548 | #324 | 0.35 |
| 1973 | 492 | #345 | 0.32 |
| 1972 | 422 | #385 | 0.26 |
| 1971 | 478 | #367 | 0.27 |
| 1970 | 340 | #445 | 0.18 |
| 1969 | 248 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1968 | 174 | #574 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 154 | #601 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 157 | #598 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 119 | #682 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 138 | #660 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 124 | #697 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 140 | #656 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 126 | #682 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 139 | #666 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 153 | #624 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 137 | #656 | 0.06 |
| 1957 | 153 | #621 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 138 | #646 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 133 | #645 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 131 | #641 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 161 | #561 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 143 | #583 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 154 | #548 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 153 | #546 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 149 | #547 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 150 | #545 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 156 | #540 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 130 | #565 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 133 | #518 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 157 | #485 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 155 | #498 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 182 | #461 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 161 | #469 | 0.13 |
| 1940 | 150 | #473 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 122 | #516 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 145 | #480 | 0.13 |
| 1937 | 143 | #476 | 0.13 |
| 1936 | 147 | #465 | 0.14 |
| 1935 | 175 | #422 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 148 | #463 | 0.14 |
| 1933 | 173 | #411 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 182 | #416 | 0.17 |
| 1931 | 180 | #421 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 191 | #428 | 0.17 |
| 1929 | 197 | #421 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 174 | #458 | 0.16 |
| 1927 | 236 | #385 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 235 | #383 | 0.21 |
| 1925 | 219 | #405 | 0.20 |
| 1924 | 239 | #392 | 0.21 |
| 1923 | 259 | #370 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 236 | #390 | 0.22 |
| 1921 | 247 | #384 | 0.22 |
| 1920 | 242 | #384 | 0.23 |
| 1919 | 253 | #363 | 0.26 |
| 1918 | 247 | #377 | 0.24 |
| 1917 | 219 | #382 | 0.24 |
| 1916 | 229 | #356 | 0.26 |
| 1915 | 189 | #391 | 0.22 |
| 1914 | 171 | #361 | 0.26 |
| 1913 | 141 | #348 | 0.28 |
| 1912 | 116 | #356 | 0.27 |
| 1911 | 82 | #293 | 0.36 |
| 1910 | 87 | #262 | 0.45 |
| 1909 | 62 | #286 | 0.38 |
| 1908 | 68 | #256 | 0.44 |
| 1907 | 61 | #271 | 0.42 |
| 1906 | 60 | #257 | 0.45 |
| 1905 | 60 | #253 | 0.45 |
| 1904 | 46 | #284 | 0.36 |
| 1903 | 48 | #267 | 0.40 |
| 1902 | 69 | #215 | 0.56 |
| 1901 | 56 | #232 | 0.53 |
| 1900 | 92 | #204 | 0.61 |
| 1899 | 47 | #245 | 0.44 |
| 1898 | 68 | #212 | 0.55 |
| 1897 | 58 | #229 | 0.51 |
| 1896 | 69 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1895 | 72 | #202 | 0.61 |
| 1894 | 74 | #198 | 0.64 |
| 1893 | 69 | #205 | 0.61 |
| 1892 | 79 | #195 | 0.65 |
| 1891 | 76 | #170 | 0.75 |
| 1890 | 74 | #182 | 0.67 |
| 1889 | 85 | #159 | 0.77 |
| 1888 | 83 | #178 | 0.69 |
| 1887 | 94 | #138 | 0.93 |
| 1886 | 90 | #156 | 0.81 |
| 1885 | 76 | #174 | 0.71 |
| 1884 | 94 | #146 | 0.82 |
| 1883 | 81 | #159 | 0.77 |
| 1882 | 108 | #129 | 0.95 |
| 1881 | 81 | #152 | 0.80 |
| 1880 | 103 | #130 | 0.93 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Noah a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Noah has been given almost only to boys: 5,020 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Noah: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Noah, and how old are they?
518,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 534,622 Americans ever recorded as Noah. The median Noah alive today is 14 years old; half are between 7 and 22.
The 2020 Census counted 372,421 people named Noah (2,393 women and girls, 370,028 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 407,175 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 536 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,780 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,760 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 29,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 229,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 251,000 |
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 Noah born?
The states with the most babies named Noah are California, Texas and Florida, with 33% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2,649 | #2 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 2,504 | #2 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 1,771 | #2 | 1.1× |
| New York | 1,397 | #1 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 752 | #1 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 751 | #2 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 708 | #1 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 690 | #2 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 681 | #2 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 568 | #3 | 1.0× |
Where Noah is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Noah is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 Noah 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 559,020 babies since 1880, Noah is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 20,826 of their 21,225 babies (98%), 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 Noah
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 Noah and names like it
- Compare Noah and NoeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sNoah peaked in 2024.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Noah since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Noah: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2024The year the most babies were named Noah.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Noah alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.