Owen — #26 US boys' name
238,411 babies named Owen in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2016. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 99.8% of names given to boys today.
38% of everyone ever named Owen was born in this single decade.
10,302 babies were named Owen in 2016 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Owen
The Social Security Administration has registered 238,411 babies named Owen between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Owen currently holds the #26 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2016, when 10,302 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Owen performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 91,090 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Owen shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 18,695 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Ohio. In total, SSA state-level files list Owen in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Owen 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 238,411 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.
Owen at a glance
Top 100 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Owen popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (2016)
- 10,302
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently a top-50 pick among boys.
238,411 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2016 with 10,302 births in a single year.
Owen popularity over time — girls
643 total births recorded since 1915 (Owen as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Owen accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Owen by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 2010s
- 91,090 births that decade — 38% of Owen's all-time total
Owen decade highlights
- Peak decade 91,090 births
- Runner-up 61,875 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
2010s was Owen's strongest decade
91,090 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 38% of all-time use.
Owen by state
Where Owen concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 18,695 | 7.8% |
| #2 | New York | | 14,155 | 5.9% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 12,982 | 5.4% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 12,809 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Texas | | 10,943 | 4.6% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 10,524 | 4.4% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 9,748 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 8,351 | 3.5% |
18,695 of 238,411 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 7.8% of nationwide
- New York 5.9% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.4% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.4% of nationwide
- Texas 4.6% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 7.8% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Owen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Owen
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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.