Recorded 1880–1972 Boys' name Peak 1919 287 births

Rice — boys' name

287 babies named Rice in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1919. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s371890s251900s61910s541920s771930s491940s121950s221970s5
1920s
Peak decade

27% of everyone ever named Rice was born in this single decade.

1919
Single peak year

15 babies were named Rice in 1919 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Rice

The Social Security Administration has registered 287 babies named Rice between 1880 and 1972, spanning 93 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Rice currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1972. The name reached its historical peak in 1919, when 15 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Rice performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 77 births during that ten-year window. Across the 9 decades of recorded activity, Rice shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Rice 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 287 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.

Rice at a glance

Last recorded 1972

Total births

287

Since 1880

93 years of records

Peak year

1919

15 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1972

Active since

1880

Recorded for 93 years

Last year on file: 1972

Rice popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1972–1880

Last recorded 1972
Peak year (1919)
15
Annual births at peak — across 93 years of records
05101520 19721945193119251919190618891880 9

Rice by decade

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

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
77 births that decade — 27% of Rice's all-time total
1880s371890s251900s61910s541920s771930s491940s121950s221970s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Rice?
287 babies have been named Rice since 1880. It was last recorded in 1972. The peak year was 1919 with 15 births.
When was Rice most popular?
Rice was most popular in the 1920s decade with 77 total births. The single peak year was 1919.
How long has the name Rice been used?
Rice has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 93 years of data through 1972.
What names are similar to Rice?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Richard, Ricky, Ricardo, Rick, 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, 1880–1972 (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.