Unisex name · since 1880
Royal
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 20,072 babies named Royal, peaking in 2021. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #840 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #476 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,072
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
20,072 babies have been named Royal since 1880, making it today's #476 unisex name.
Social Security Administration records show Royal recorded 20,072 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #476 nationally today, ahead of 97% 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 1880 to 2025.
- #840 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #476 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 20,072 born since 1880
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Royal ranks #840 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #476 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 20,072 born since 1880, peaking in the 2020s.
- #840 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #476 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,072
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
Royal's 20,072 recorded births place it above 98.15% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Royal compares
20,072 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Royal's all-time total is 54x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Royal | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 20,072 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 888 | 34 | 22,252 |
Royal's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Royal splits its recorded history at 1953: 64% of all births land in the more recent half, 36% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1886 (19 births) -- compare that against the 2021 peak of 888 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Royal popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2021)
- 888
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Royal popularity over time - girls
4,322 total births recorded since 1928 (Royal as girls' name)
Royal by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (4,688 births, 23% of the file).
2020s was Royal's strongest decade.
4,688 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Royal births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 274
1880s
274 births
- 1890s 299
1890s
299 births
- 1900s 312
1900s
312 births
- 1910s 1,338
1910s
1,338 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,030 births
- 1930s 1,355
1930s
1,355 births
- 1940s 1,289
1940s
1,289 births
- 1950s 1,068
1950s
1,068 births
- 1960s 735
1960s
735 births
- 1970s 561
1970s
561 births
- 1980s 496
1980s
496 births
- 1990s 502
1990s
502 births
- 2000s 764
2000s
764 births
- 2010s
2010s
4,361 births
- 2020s
2020s
4,688 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 4,688 births (23% of all-time use).
How Royal 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 Royal's total volume
Royal by state
Where Royal concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 1,396 | 7.0% |
| #2 | California | | 1,356 | 6.8% |
| #3 | New York | | 1,140 | 5.7% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 779 | 3.9% |
| #5 | Louisiana | | 720 | 3.6% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 684 | 3.4% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 561 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 559 | 2.8% |
1,396 of 20,072 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.
Royal appears in 43 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Royal sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Royal most popular? ▼
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What to do with Royal's data
- Texas records the most Royals (1,396 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Royal
Nearby Names Like Royal
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Royal
Compare Royal side by side: Royal vs Roy Royal vs Royce Royal vs Royden
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Royal
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Royal: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2021)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Royal 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.