Stanford
Stanford was given to 12 boys in 2025, #7,127 among boys’ names; 7,727 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,780 Americans named Stanford and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (49% of everyone recorded); the median is 59 years old and half are between 41 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Stanford by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Stanford mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Stanford is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “stone” (stān) and “ford” (ford).
Various placenames from Old English stān (“stone”) + ford (“ford”).
(The university): Named after the son of railroad magnate Leland Stanford.
/ˈstænfəɹd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Stanford?
#7,127 among boys’ names, 2025
Stanford fell from #5,257 in 2015 to #7,127 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 9.4 to 7.0 per million.
135 babies in 1954, the peak
Stanford peaked in 1954, when 135 boys were given it, #635 among boys’ names. The 12 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #7,127 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 11 | #7,683 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 7 | #10,651 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 21 | #4,823 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 19 | #5,078 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 13 | #6,569 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 7 | #10,648 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 17 | #5,505 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 16 | #5,742 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 12 | #7,081 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 18 | #5,257 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 20 | #4,838 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 15 | #5,878 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 21 | #4,652 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 7 | #10,620 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 16 | #5,691 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #7,166 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 15 | #6,021 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 14 | #6,213 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 21 | #4,488 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 22 | #4,162 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 19 | #4,570 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 21 | #4,082 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 23 | #3,763 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 21 | #3,949 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 17 | #4,531 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 18 | #4,126 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 25 | #3,173 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 29 | #2,736 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 29 | #2,661 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 37 | #2,198 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 29 | #2,601 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 36 | #2,198 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 38 | #2,076 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 57 | #1,538 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 36 | #2,074 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 43 | #1,786 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 52 | #1,472 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 49 | #1,478 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 45 | #1,507 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 47 | #1,448 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 38 | #1,602 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 45 | #1,423 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 50 | #1,339 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 50 | #1,330 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 37 | #1,615 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 51 | #1,303 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 39 | #1,503 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 41 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 35 | #1,566 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 53 | #1,166 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 55 | #1,114 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 71 | #961 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 75 | #928 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 95 | #836 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 70 | #967 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 73 | #899 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 97 | #754 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 83 | #800 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 92 | #765 | 0.05 |
| 1965 | 99 | #748 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 79 | #859 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 92 | #794 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 113 | #724 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 104 | #756 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 104 | #757 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 101 | #759 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 113 | #710 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 132 | #662 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 124 | #677 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 105 | #712 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 135 | #635 | 0.07 |
| 1953 | 114 | #667 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 126 | #626 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 122 | #643 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 119 | #634 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 128 | #604 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 128 | #595 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 113 | #650 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 97 | #658 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 84 | #662 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 95 | #632 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 74 | #761 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 96 | #662 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 92 | #639 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 79 | #685 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 82 | #658 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 105 | #573 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 85 | #646 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 90 | #616 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 86 | #639 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 103 | #584 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 92 | #609 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 86 | #663 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 130 | #505 | 0.13 |
| 1930 | 101 | #616 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 118 | #541 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 118 | #566 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 131 | #540 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 100 | #630 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 94 | #662 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 93 | #676 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 92 | #669 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 119 | #593 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 93 | #673 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 97 | #644 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 90 | #647 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 92 | #644 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 107 | #575 | 0.12 |
| 1916 | 76 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1915 | 87 | #620 | 0.10 |
| 1914 | 68 | #615 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 58 | #578 | 0.11 |
| 1912 | 43 | #648 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 21 | #702 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 20 | #673 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 20 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 15 | #709 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 16 | #661 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 13 | #701 | 0.10 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,218 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 8 | #955 | 0.06 |
| 1903 | 10 | #774 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,196 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 11 | #829 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 6 | #1,041 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 7 | #986 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,068 | 0.05 |
| 1894 | 10 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1887 | 6 | #909 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 6 | #898 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Stanford a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Stanford has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 131 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Stanford: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Stanford, and how old are they?
3,780 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 49% of the 7,727 Americans ever recorded as Stanford. The median Stanford alive today is 59 years old; half are between 41 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 4,126 people named Stanford (18 women and girls, 4,108 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,229 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 310 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,410 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 930 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 646 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 296 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 187 |
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 Stanford born?
The states with the most babies named Stanford are Pennsylvania, California and New York, with 39% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 459 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| California | 401 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| New York | 248 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Ohio | 199 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Louisiana | 192 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 180 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Georgia | 134 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 129 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Virginia | 129 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Hawaii | 126 | not ranked | 4.0× |
Where Stanford is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Stanford is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 4.0 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 Stanford with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Stanford
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 Stanford and names like it
- Compare Stanford and WymanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sStanford peaked in 1954.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Stanford since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Stanford: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1954The year the most babies were named Stanford.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Stanford alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.