Recorded 1917–2000 Boys' name Peak 1921 79 births

Perkins — boys' name

79 babies named Perkins in U.S. Social Security records since 1917, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s81920s381930s61940s171950s52000s5
1920s
Peak decade

48% of everyone ever named Perkins was born in this single decade.

1921
Single peak year

10 babies were named Perkins in 1921 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Perkins

The Social Security Administration has registered 79 babies named Perkins between 1917 and 2000, spanning 84 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Perkins currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2000. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 10 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Perkins performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 38 births during that ten-year window. Across the 6 decades of recorded activity, Perkins shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Mississippi, which accounts for 5 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Perkins in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Perkins 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 79 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.

Perkins at a glance

Last recorded 2000

Total births

79

Since 1917

84 years of records

Peak year

1921

10 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2000

Active since

1917

Recorded for 84 years

Last year on file: 2000

Perkins popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2000–1917

Last recorded 2000
Peak year (1921)
10
Annual births at peak — across 84 years of records
4681012 2000194719431929192519211917 8

Perkins by decade

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

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
38 births that decade — 48% of Perkins's all-time total
1910s81920s381930s61940s171950s52000s5

Perkins by state

Where Perkins concentrates geographically — total births since 1917

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Perkins
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Mississippi
5 6.3%
Mississippi share of Perkins's total US births 6.3%

5 of 79 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Perkins?
79 babies have been named Perkins since 1917. It was last recorded in 2000. The peak year was 1921 with 10 births.
When was Perkins most popular?
Perkins was most popular in the 1920s decade with 38 total births. The single peak year was 1921.
Where is Perkins most popular?
The top states for the name Perkins are Mississippi (5 births).
How long has the name Perkins been used?
Perkins has been recorded in Social Security data since 1917, spanning 84 years of data through 2000.
What names are similar to Perkins?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Perry, Percy, Pernell, Perrin, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

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, 1917–2000 (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.