Russell — #367 US boys' name
358,820 babies named Russell in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1960. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 97% of names given to boys today.
17% of everyone ever named Russell was born in this single decade.
7,482 babies were named Russell in 1960 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Russell
The Social Security Administration has registered 358,820 babies named Russell between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Russell currently holds the #367 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1960, when 7,482 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Russell performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 62,401 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Russell shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 24,996 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Russell in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Russell 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 358,820 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.
Russell at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Russell popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1960)
- 7,482
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #367 among boys.
358,820 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1960 with 7,482 births in a single year.
Russell popularity over time — girls
1,696 total births recorded since 1892 (Russell as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Russell accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Russell by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- 62,401 births that decade — 17% of Russell's all-time total
Russell decade highlights
- Peak decade 62,401 births
- Runner-up 60,447 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1950s was Russell's strongest decade
62,401 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 17% of all-time use.
Russell by state
Where Russell concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 24,996 | 7.0% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 22,779 | 6.3% |
| #3 | New York | | 22,161 | 6.2% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 19,967 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 19,325 | 5.4% |
| #6 | Texas | | 17,845 | 5.0% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 16,240 | 4.5% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 11,175 | 3.1% |
24,996 of 358,820 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 7.0% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 6.3% of nationwide
- New York 6.2% of nationwide
- Ohio 5.6% of nationwide
- Illinois 5.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 7.0% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Russell appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.