Boys' name · since 1912
Patterson
Patterson has 540 recorded births since 1912 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2013 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #7,530 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,768 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 540
- born since 1912
- 2010s
- peak decade
540 babies have been named Patterson since 1912, making it today's #10768 boys' name.
Patterson has 540 recorded births among boys since 1912, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #10768 as of the latest data, more common than 23% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1912 to 2025.
- #7,530 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #10,768 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 540 born since 1912
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Patterson ranks #7,530 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,768 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 540 born since 1912, peaking in the 2010s.
- #7,530 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,768 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 540
- born since 1912
- 2010s
- peak decade
Patterson's 540 recorded births place it above 83.44% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Patterson compares
540 Top 43% higher than 57% 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
Patterson's all-time total is 46% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Patterson | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 540 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 16 | 34 | 22,252 |
Patterson's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Patterson splits its recorded history at 1968: 52% of all births land in the more recent half, 48% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1912 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2013 peak of 16 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Patterson popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1912–2025
- Peak year (2013)
- 16
- Annual births at peak, across 114 years of records
Patterson popularity over time - girls
20 total births recorded since 1993 (Patterson as girls' name)
Patterson by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (111 births, 21% of the file).
2010s was Patterson's strongest decade.
111 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Patterson births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 34
1910s
34 births
- 1920s
1920s
47 births
- 1930s 22
1930s
22 births
- 1940s
1940s
66 births
- 1950s
1950s
57 births
- 1960s 44
1960s
44 births
- 1970s 10
1970s
10 births
- 1980s 26
1980s
26 births
- 1990s 27
1990s
27 births
- 2000s
2000s
72 births
- 2010s
2010s
111 births
- 2020s 24
2020s
24 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 111 births (21% of all-time use).
How Patterson 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 Patterson's total volume
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Patterson's data
- Patterson's decade-level peak was the 2010s (111 total births); usage has since declined to 24 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Patterson
Nearby Names Like Patterson
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Patterson
Compare Patterson side by side: Patterson vs Patrick Patterson vs Pat Patterson vs Patsy
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Patterson
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Patterson: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2013)
Similar record span (~113 yrs)
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, 1912–2025 (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 Patterson 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.