Recorded 1900–1971 Boys' name Peak 1926 357 births

Smiley — boys' name

357 babies named Smiley in U.S. Social Security records since 1900, with the highest year being 1926. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1900s111910s621920s741930s621940s571950s641960s221970s5
1920s
Peak decade

21% of everyone ever named Smiley was born in this single decade.

1926
Single peak year

13 babies were named Smiley in 1926 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Smiley

The Social Security Administration has registered 357 babies named Smiley between 1900 and 1971, spanning 72 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Smiley currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1971. The name reached its historical peak in 1926, when 13 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Smiley performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 74 births during that ten-year window. Across the 8 decades of recorded activity, Smiley shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Mississippi, which accounts for 5 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Smiley in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Smiley 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 357 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.

Smiley at a glance

Last recorded 1971

Total births

357

Since 1900

72 years of records

Peak year

1926

13 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1971

Active since

1900

Recorded for 72 years

Last year on file: 1971

Smiley popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1971–1900

Last recorded 1971
Peak year (1926)
13
Annual births at peak — across 72 years of records
468101214 197119581951194419371928192219161900 5

Smiley by decade

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

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
74 births that decade — 21% of Smiley's all-time total
1900s111910s621920s741930s621940s571950s641960s221970s5

Smiley by state

Where Smiley concentrates geographically — total births since 1900

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Smiley
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Mississippi
5 1.4%
Mississippi share of Smiley's total US births 1.4%

5 of 357 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Smiley?
357 babies have been named Smiley since 1900. It was last recorded in 1971. The peak year was 1926 with 13 births.
When was Smiley most popular?
Smiley was most popular in the 1920s decade with 74 total births. The single peak year was 1926.
Where is Smiley most popular?
The top states for the name Smiley are Mississippi (5 births).
How long has the name Smiley been used?
Smiley has been recorded in Social Security data since 1900, spanning 72 years of data through 1971.
What names are similar to Smiley?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Smith, Smitty, Smit, Smithy. 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, 1900–1971 (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.