Boys' name · since 1880

Obed

4,135 babies named Obed in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2005. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#2,028 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#2,056 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
4,135
born since 1880
2000s
peak decade

4,135 babies have been named Obed since 1880, making it today's #2056 boys' name.

Social Security Administration records show Obed recorded 4,135 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #2056 nationally today, ahead of 85% of boys, peaking in the 2000s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #2,028 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #2,056 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 4,135 born since 1880
  • 2000s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Obed ranks #2,028 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,056 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 4,135 born since 1880, peaking in the 2000s.

#2,028 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#2,056 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
4,135
born since 1880
2000s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%85.2%
Obed vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Obed's 4,135 recorded births place it above 95.54% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

16 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

16 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.

How Obed compares

4,135 Top 14% higher than 86% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Obed's all-time total is 11x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Obed Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 4,135 369 358,536
Peak-year births 137 34 22,252

Obed's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Obed splits its recorded history at 1968: 87% of all births land in the more recent half, 13% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1894 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2005 peak of 137 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Obed popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2005)
137
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
050100150 188019231938195619711986200120162025 72

Obed by decade

2000s is the heaviest window (1,083 births, 26% of the file).

2000s was Obed's strongest decade.

1,083 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 26% of all-time use.

Obed births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2000s at 1,083 births (26% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Obed compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Obed's total volume

Obed vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -26, 11.9%-58, 3.5%-62, 4.9%-30, 5.9%-102, 3%-112, 3.7%-145, 1.9%-24, 7.3%-73, 4.3%-43, 6.9%-140, 2.9%-146, 3.1%-85, 3.3%-146, 2.2%-146, 2.1%Obed-146, 3.3%Obed
Obed vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Obed by state

Where Obed concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Obed
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
743 18.0%
#2 California
659 15.9%
#3 Florida
141 3.4%
#4 New York
114 2.8%
#5 Arizona
104 2.5%
#6 North Carolina
46 1.1%
#7 Georgia
41 1.0%
#8 Illinois
27 0.7%
Texas share of Obed's total US births 18.0%
Even split

743 of 4,135 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 16 reporting states.

Obed appears in 16 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Obed? ▼
4,135 babies have been named Obed since 1880. All-time, it sits at #2,028 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #2,056 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2005 with 137 births.
Where does Obed sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Obed ranks #2,028 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,056 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Obed most popular? ▼
Obed was most popular in the 2000s decade with 1,083 total births. The single peak year was 2005.
Where is Obed most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Obed are Texas (743 births), California (659 births), Florida (141 births).
How long has the name Obed been used? ▼
Records for Obed go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Obed? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Obert, Oberon, Obediah, Oberyn, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Obed's data

  • Obed's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (1,083 total births) through the 2020s (472) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • Texas records the most Obeds (743 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Obed

Nearby Names Like Obed

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Obed

Obert Boy
619 births
Oberon Boy
#5557 283 births
Obediah Boy
#12077 226 births
Oberyn Boy
#10429 119 births
Obe Boy
73 births

Compare Obed side by side: Obed vs Obert Obed vs Oberon Obed vs Obediah

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Obed

Swayde #2055
227 births · Peak 2025
Lake #2057
2,987 births · Peak 2024
Ezrael #2054
552 births · Peak 2025
Marko #2058
4,439 births · Peak 2006
Hudsyn #2053
648 births · Peak 2022
Octavius #2059
3,687 births · Peak 1991
Rowyn #2052
799 births · Peak 2024
Everardo #2060
4,926 births · Peak 2004

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Obed: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Obed draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.