Royal
Royal is given to both girls and boys: 125 girls and 640 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,663 among girls’ names and #476 among boys’, #843 among all names counting both); 24,394 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 17,500 Americans named Royal and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 5 and 18.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Royal by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Royal mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Royal is “a male given name from English from the surname” Its etymology gives the senses “rye” (ryge) and “hill” (hyll) and “roe” (rā).
Also “a male given name from the word “royal”.”
A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā (“roe”) + hyll (“hill”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Royal?
#476 among boys’ names, 2025
Royal fell from #467 in 2015 to #476 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 0.34 to 0.37 per 1,000.
1,217 babies in 2021, the peak
Royal peaked in 2021, when 1,217 babies were given it (888 boys, #369 among boys’ names). The 765 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 63% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 125 | #1,663 | 640 | #476 |
| 2024 | 194 | #1,219 | 745 | #424 |
| 2023 | 259 | #988 | 795 | #401 |
| 2022 | 322 | #864 | 880 | #369 |
| 2021 | 329 | #840 | 888 | #369 |
| 2020 | 352 | #774 | 740 | #405 |
| 2019 | 351 | #790 | 653 | #459 |
| 2018 | 341 | #800 | 610 | #482 |
| 2017 | 418 | #697 | 577 | #504 |
| 2016 | 477 | #629 | 662 | #461 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 380 | #742 | 648 | #467 |
| 2014 | 255 | #1,024 | 489 | #570 |
| 2013 | 59 | #2,895 | 235 | #888 |
| 2012 | 32 | #4,579 | 194 | #1,016 |
| 2011 | 35 | #4,226 | 148 | #1,196 |
| 2010 | 18 | #7,157 | 145 | #1,226 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,676 | 122 | #1,402 |
| 2008 | 14 | #8,873 | 110 | #1,491 |
| 2007 | 14 | #8,911 | 115 | #1,420 |
| 2006 | 10 | #11,248 | 75 | #1,837 |
| 2005 | 6 | #16,035 | 68 | #1,879 |
| 2004 | 14 | #8,141 | 61 | #1,982 |
| 2003 | 7 | #13,527 | 53 | #2,116 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,910 | 53 | #2,058 |
| 2001 | 7 | #13,184 | 57 | #1,926 |
| 2000 | 11 | #9,023 | 50 | #2,039 |
| 1999 | 8 | #11,148 | 49 | #1,984 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,923 | 52 | #1,890 |
| 1997 | 6 | #13,367 | 47 | #1,952 |
| 1996 | 11 | #7,994 | 49 | #1,861 |
| 1995 | 7 | #11,495 | 42 | #2,013 |
| 1994 | 9 | #9,432 | 52 | #1,724 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,928 | 50 | #1,730 |
| 1992 | 7 | #11,425 | 43 | #1,903 |
| 1991 | 8 | #10,028 | 52 | #1,623 |
| 1990 | 10 | #8,362 | 66 | #1,373 |
| 1989 | 6 | #11,985 | 44 | #1,756 |
| 1988 | 6 | #11,416 | 55 | #1,415 |
| 1987 | 5 | #12,779 | 42 | #1,649 |
| 1986 | under 5 | 48 | #1,451 | |
| 1985 | 5 | #12,038 | 52 | #1,348 |
| 1984 | 8 | #7,972 | 41 | #1,526 |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,953 | 58 | #1,198 |
| 1982 | under 5 | 55 | #1,261 | |
| 1981 | 9 | #7,256 | 49 | #1,359 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,824 | 52 | #1,310 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,756 | 56 | #1,240 |
| 1978 | 6 | #9,442 | 60 | #1,146 |
| 1977 | 6 | #9,354 | 52 | #1,240 |
| 1976 | 8 | #7,112 | 49 | #1,259 |
| 1975 | under 5 | 46 | #1,274 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 49 | #1,193 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 50 | #1,172 | |
| 1972 | 6 | #8,013 | 59 | #1,058 |
| 1971 | under 5 | 67 | #997 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 73 | #938 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 64 | #964 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 49 | #1,064 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 67 | #884 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 66 | #894 | |
| 1965 | 5 | #7,313 | 78 | #835 |
| 1964 | under 5 | 78 | #866 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 69 | #904 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 79 | #853 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 90 | #806 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 95 | #786 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 91 | #805 | |
| 1958 | 7 | #5,301 | 65 | #947 |
| 1957 | under 5 | 100 | #755 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 130 | #669 | |
| 1955 | 6 | #5,709 | 104 | #718 |
| 1954 | 5 | #6,463 | 110 | #690 |
| 1953 | under 5 | 118 | #654 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 104 | #686 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 134 | #607 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 112 | #660 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 129 | #601 | |
| 1948 | 5 | #5,881 | 126 | #605 |
| 1947 | 6 | #5,189 | 154 | #541 |
| 1946 | 7 | #4,340 | 120 | #588 |
| 1945 | 6 | #4,453 | 144 | #499 |
| 1944 | under 5 | 135 | #527 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 122 | #575 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 124 | #552 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 108 | #574 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 127 | #516 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 112 | #542 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 134 | #504 | |
| 1937 | 5 | #4,814 | 131 | #503 |
| 1936 | under 5 | 128 | #503 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 123 | #521 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 127 | #521 | |
| 1933 | 7 | #3,694 | 145 | #463 |
| 1932 | under 5 | 149 | #472 | |
| 1931 | 10 | #2,941 | 148 | #466 |
| 1930 | under 5 | 158 | #472 | |
| 1929 | 5 | #5,168 | 212 | #400 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,696 | 182 | #444 |
| 1927 | under 5 | 196 | #432 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 181 | #452 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 200 | #424 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 214 | #418 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 226 | #396 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 228 | #400 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 191 | #447 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 200 | #423 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 202 | #410 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 223 | #399 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 186 | #414 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 174 | #429 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 157 | #433 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 125 | #432 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 91 | #455 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 100 | #384 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 36 | #495 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 44 | #406 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 41 | #376 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 38 | #380 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 28 | #445 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 38 | #339 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 30 | #389 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 30 | #377 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 28 | #367 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 31 | #358 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 23 | #398 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 25 | #466 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 28 | #344 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 26 | #389 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 20 | #433 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 26 | #386 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 32 | #328 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 23 | #396 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 38 | #285 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 42 | #283 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 33 | #288 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 31 | #315 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 37 | #279 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 40 | #285 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 24 | #339 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 19 | #414 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 28 | #324 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 32 | #311 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 21 | #379 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 27 | #345 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 20 | #385 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 26 | #340 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Royal a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 24,394 Americans recorded as Royal, 18% are girls and 82% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Royal: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Royal, and how old are they?
17,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 24,394 Americans ever recorded as Royal. The median Royal alive today is 9 years old; half are between 5 and 18.
The 2020 Census counted 10,220 people named Royal (2,200 women and girls, 8,020 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 12,172 born in the U.S. The Census count is 16% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 458 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,320 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 871 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 863 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 12,300 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Royal born?
The states with the most babies named Royal are Texas, Georgia and Florida, with 27% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 77 | #511 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 58 | #257 | 1.4× |
| Florida | 52 | #448 | 0.8× |
| California | 50 | #653 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 43 | #328 | 0.9× |
| New York | 39 | #523 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 30 | #441 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 25 | #442 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 24 | #452 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 23 | #626 | 0.5× |
Where Royal is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Royal is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Royal with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 29,505 babies since 1880, Royal is the most given (83% of them). In 2025 it was given to 765 of their 826 babies (93%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Royal
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Royal and names like it
- Compare Royal and RoelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sRoyal peaked in 2021.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Royal since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Royal: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Royal.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Royal alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with RMost given first.