Unisex name · since 1949
Phelan
Phelan has 581 recorded births since 1949 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1996 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #7,210 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,225 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 581
- born since 1949
- 1990s
- peak decade
581 babies have been named Phelan since 1949, making it today's #12225 unisex name.
Phelan has 581 recorded births among boys since 1949, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #12225 as of the latest data, more common than 12% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1949 to 2025.
- #7,210 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #12,225 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 581 born since 1949
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Phelan ranks #7,210 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,225 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 581 born since 1949, peaking in the 1990s.
- #7,210 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,225 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 581
- born since 1949
- 1990s
- peak decade
Phelan's 581 recorded births place it above 84.14% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Phelan compares
581 Top 41% higher than 59% 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
Phelan's all-time total is 57% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Phelan | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 581 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 26 | 34 | 22,252 |
Phelan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Phelan's full recorded timeline at 1998, 50% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 50% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1956, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1996 peak of 26 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Phelan popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1949–2025
- Peak year (1996)
- 26
- Annual births at peak, across 77 years of records
Phelan popularity over time - girls
68 total births recorded since 1982 (Phelan as girls' name)
Phelan by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (163 births, 28% of the file).
1990s was Phelan's strongest decade.
163 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 28% of all-time use.
Phelan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1940s 6
1940s
6 births
- 1950s 5
1950s
5 births
- 1960s 5
1960s
5 births
- 1970s 60
1970s
60 births
- 1980s
1980s
80 births
- 1990s
1990s
163 births
- 2000s
2000s
115 births
- 2010s
2010s
95 births
- 2020s 52
2020s
52 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 163 births (28% of all-time use).
How Phelan 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 Phelan's total volume
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Phelan? ▼
Where does Phelan sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Phelan most popular? ▼
Is Phelan a unisex name? ▼
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What to do with Phelan's data
- Phelan's decade-level peak was the 1990s (163 total births); usage has since declined to 52 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 Phelan
Nearby Names Like Phelan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Phelan
Compare Phelan side by side: Phelan vs Pheonix Phelan vs Phenix Phelan vs Pheng
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Phelan
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Phelan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1996)
Similar record span (~76 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, 1949–2025 (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 Phelan 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.