Boys' name · since 1914

Read

308 babies named Read in U.S. Social Security records since 1914, with the highest year being 1949. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#10,434 of 45,481
all-time among boys
308
born since 1914
1990s
peak decade

308 boys have been named Read since 1914, though it isn't currently a top-ranked name.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Read has been recorded 308 times among boys since 1914, though it is not among the currently most-used boys names, with its heaviest use in the 1990s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2014.

  • #10,434 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • 308 born since 1914
  • 1990s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Read ranks #10,434 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 308 born since 1914, peaking in the 1990s.

#10,434 of 45,481
all-time among boys
308
born since 1914
1990s
peak decade
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Read's 308 recorded births place it above 77.05% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

Read's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Read's full recorded timeline at 1969, 48% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 52% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1926, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1949 peak of 14 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Read popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2014

Last recorded 2014
Peak year (1949)
14
Annual births at peak, across 101 years of records
46810121416 191419351948195519691986199420022014 5

Read by decade

1990s is the heaviest window (53 births, 17% of the file).

1990s was Read's strongest decade.

53 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 17% of all-time use.

Read births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1990s at 53 births (17% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Read? ▼
308 babies have been named Read since 1914. All-time, it sits at #10,434 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. It was last recorded in 2014. The peak year was 1949 with 14 births.
Where does Read sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Read ranks #10,434 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Read most popular? ▼
Read was most popular in the 1990s decade with 53 total births. The single peak year was 1949.
How long has the name Read been used? ▼
Records for Read go back to 1914, giving 101 years of history through 2014.
What names are similar to Read? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Reagan, Real, Reason, Rea, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Read's data

  • Read's decade-level peak was the 1990s (53 total births); usage has since declined to 10 in the 2010s -- 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 Read

Nearby Names Like Read

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Read

Reagan Boy
#1680 7,841 births
Real Boy
395 births
Reason Boy
#2996 255 births
Rea Boy
190 births
Reade Boy
141 births

Compare Read side by side: Read vs Reagan Read vs Real Read vs Reason

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar number of total births

Malon
308 births · Peak 1927
Carlee
308 births · Peak 1930
Criag
308 births · Peak 1985
Demetrie
308 births · Peak 1992
Panayiotis #12393
308 births · Peak 2003
Dshaun
308 births · Peak 2007
Damonta
308 births · Peak 2001
Dierks #7514
308 births · Peak 2015

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Read: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1914–2014 (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 Read 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.