Smith — #1575 US boys' name
5,354 babies named Smith in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2016. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 89% of names given to boys today.
23% of everyone ever named Smith was born in this single decade.
162 babies were named Smith in 2016 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Smith
The Social Security Administration has registered 5,354 babies named Smith between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Smith currently holds the #1575 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2016, when 162 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Smith performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 1,258 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Smith shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 249 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by North Carolina and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Smith in 25 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Smith 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 5,354 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.
Smith at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Smith popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (2016)
- 162
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1575 among boys.
5,354 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2016 with 162 births in a single year.
Smith popularity over time — girls
181 total births recorded since 1972 (Smith as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Smith accounts for 3% of total recorded use across both genders.
Smith by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 2010s
- 1,258 births that decade — 23% of Smith's all-time total
Smith decade highlights
- Peak decade 1,258 births
- Runner-up 599 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
2010s was Smith's strongest decade
1,258 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 23% of all-time use.
Smith by state
Where Smith concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 249 | 4.7% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 213 | 4.0% |
| #3 | California | | 211 | 3.9% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 199 | 3.7% |
| #5 | Florida | | 132 | 2.5% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 90 | 1.7% |
| #7 | South Carolina | | 87 | 1.6% |
| #8 | New York | | 79 | 1.5% |
249 of 5,354 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 25 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- Texas 4.7% of nationwide
- North Carolina 4.0% of nationwide
- California 3.9% of nationwide
- Georgia 3.7% of nationwide
- Florida 2.5% of nationwide
Recorded in 25 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
Texas accounts for 4.7% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Smith appears in 25 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.