Boys' name · since 2003
Ptolemy
57 babies named Ptolemy in U.S. Social Security records since 2003, with the highest year being 2016. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #21,288 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,213 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 57
- born since 2003
- 2020s
- peak decade
Ptolemy currently ranks #10213 among boys' names in America, with 57 babies recorded since 2003.
Social Security Administration records show Ptolemy recorded 57 times among boys since 2003, holding rank #10213 nationally today, ahead of 27% of boys, peaking in the 2020s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2003 to 2025.
- #21,288 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #10,213 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 57 born since 2003
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Ptolemy ranks #21,288 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,213 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 57 born since 2003, peaking in the 2020s.
- #21,288 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,213 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 57
- born since 2003
- 2020s
- peak decade
Ptolemy's 57 recorded births place it above 53.13% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Ptolemy compares
57 18th percentile among 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
Ptolemy's all-time total is 85% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Ptolemy | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 57 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 9 | 34 | 22,252 |
Ptolemy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Ptolemy's full recorded timeline at 2019, 53% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 47% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2003, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2016 peak of 9 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Ptolemy popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2003–2025
- Peak year (2016)
- 9
- Annual births at peak, across 23 years of records
Ptolemy by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (24 births, 42% of the file).
2020s was Ptolemy's strongest decade.
24 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 42% of all-time use.
Ptolemy births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2000s
2000s
11 births
- 2010s
2010s
22 births
- 2020s
2020s
24 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 24 births (42% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Ptolemy
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Ptolemy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2016)
Similar record span (~22 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, 2003–2025 (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 Ptolemy 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.