US rank #1359 Boys' name Peak 1985 81,752 births

Ross — #1359 US boys' name

81,752 babies named Ross in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1985. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s9511890s8511900s8031910s36921920s52401930s45581940s61531950s95151960s97811970s79351980s157131990s104632000s35612010s18472020s689
#1359
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 90% of names given to boys today.

1980s
Peak decade

19% of everyone ever named Ross was born in this single decade.

1985
Single peak year

1,884 babies were named Ross in 1985 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Ross

The Social Security Administration has registered 81,752 babies named Ross between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Ross currently holds the #1359 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1985, when 1,884 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Ross performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 15,713 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Ross shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 6,413 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Ross in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Ross 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 81,752 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.

Ross at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

81,752

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1985

1,884 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

#1,359

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Ross popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1985)
1,884
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-50005001,0001,5002,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 69

Ross popularity over time — girls

422 total births recorded since 1891 (Ross as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 422 births
05101520 202319991985197519601941192619181891 5

Ross by decade

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

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
15,713 births that decade — 19% of Ross's all-time total
1880s9511890s8511900s8031910s36921920s52401930s45581940s61531950s95151960s97811970s79351980s157131990s104632000s35612010s18472020s689

Ross by state

Where Ross concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Ross
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
6,413 7.8%
#2 Texas
5,324 6.5%
#3 New York
4,950 6.1%
#4 Pennsylvania
4,239 5.2%
#5 Illinois
4,199 5.1%
#6 Ohio
4,147 5.1%
#7 Michigan
3,766 4.6%
#8 Minnesota
2,940 3.6%
California share of Ross's total US births 7.8%
Even split

6,413 of 81,752 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Ross appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Ross?
81,752 babies have been named Ross since 1880. It currently ranks #1359 among boys. The peak year was 1985 with 1,884 births.
When was Ross most popular?
Ross was most popular in the 1980s decade with 15,713 total births. The single peak year was 1985.
Where is Ross most popular?
The top states for the name Ross are California (6,413 births), Texas (5,324 births), New York (4,950 births).
How long has the name Ross been used?
Ross has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Ross?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Roscoe, Rosario, Rosendo, Rosevelt, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Ross

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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, 1880–2024 (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.