Tim
Tim was given to 37 boys in 2025, #3,229 among boys’ names; 83,546 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 60,500 Americans named Tim and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (73% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 60 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Tim by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Tim mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Tim is “a diminutive of the male given names Timothy and Timon (rare).”
/tɪm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Tim?
#3,229 among boys’ names, 2025
Tim fell from #2,228 in 2015 to #3,229 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 31.8 to 21.7 per million.
6,944 babies in 1960, the peak
Tim peaked in 1960, when 6,944 babies were given it (6,931 boys, #60 among boys’ names). The 37 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37 | #3,229 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 54 | #2,520 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 37 | #3,283 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 32 | #3,605 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 42 | #2,967 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 32 | #3,480 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 57 | #2,388 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 57 | #2,352 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 53 | #2,443 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 68 | #2,083 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 61 | #2,228 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 75 | #1,941 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 51 | #2,455 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 41 | #2,899 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 48 | #2,585 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 65 | #2,093 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 69 | #2,031 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 70 | #2,025 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 77 | #1,873 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 78 | #1,786 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 84 | #1,631 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 60 | #2,015 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 88 | #1,488 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 79 | #1,566 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 81 | #1,509 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 91 | #1,384 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 74 | #1,526 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 61 | #1,693 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 57 | #1,725 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 61 | #1,610 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 51 | #1,748 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 69 | #1,414 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 64 | #1,465 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 78 | #1,283 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 68 | #1,375 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 77 | #1,263 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 96 | #1,067 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 92 | #1,029 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 83 | #1,051 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 75 | #1,085 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 101 | #905 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 122 | #792 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 96 | #904 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 139 | #749 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 162 | #681 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 165 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 148 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 246 | #526 | 0.15 |
| 1977 | 254 | #521 | 0.15 |
| 1976 | 291 | #460 | 0.19 |
| 1975 | 327 | #436 | 0.21 |
| 1974 | 410 | #382 | 0.26 |
| 1973 | 523 | #328 | 0.34 |
| 1972 | 733 | #266 | 0.45 |
| 1971 | 1,049 | #226 | 0.59 |
| 1970 | 1,324 | #199 | 0.71 |
| 1969 | 1,544 | #181 | 0.86 |
| 1968 | 2,073 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1967 | 2,624 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1966 | 3,141 | #103 | 1.8 |
| 1965 | 3,718 | #97 | 2.0 |
| 1964 | 4,695 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1963 | 5,016 | #79 | 2.5 |
| 1962 | 5,585 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1961 | 6,245 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1960 | 6,931 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1959 | 6,826 | #60 | 3.2 |
| 1958 | 5,540 | #74 | 2.6 |
| 1957 | 3,251 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1956 | 1,717 | #174 | 0.81 |
| 1955 | 1,144 | #212 | 0.56 |
| 1954 | 815 | #244 | 0.40 |
| 1953 | 744 | #254 | 0.38 |
| 1952 | 696 | #260 | 0.36 |
| 1951 | 715 | #250 | 0.38 |
| 1950 | 754 | #242 | 0.42 |
| 1949 | 1,007 | #201 | 0.57 |
| 1948 | 1,296 | #171 | 0.74 |
| 1947 | 1,330 | #170 | 0.73 |
| 1946 | 1,134 | #171 | 0.70 |
| 1945 | 779 | #192 | 0.58 |
| 1944 | 605 | #229 | 0.44 |
| 1943 | 618 | #233 | 0.43 |
| 1942 | 512 | #264 | 0.37 |
| 1941 | 388 | #296 | 0.32 |
| 1940 | 333 | #308 | 0.29 |
| 1939 | 245 | #362 | 0.22 |
| 1938 | 270 | #337 | 0.24 |
| 1937 | 162 | #441 | 0.15 |
| 1936 | 134 | #490 | 0.13 |
| 1935 | 131 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1934 | 114 | #554 | 0.11 |
| 1933 | 101 | #576 | 0.10 |
| 1932 | 87 | #656 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 72 | #727 | 0.07 |
| 1930 | 61 | #839 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 74 | #732 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 50 | #977 | 0.05 |
| 1927 | 64 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 65 | #824 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 60 | #868 | 0.05 |
| 1924 | 62 | #884 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 65 | #844 | 0.06 |
| 1922 | 49 | #1,019 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 54 | #961 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 64 | #851 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 57 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 67 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 48 | #931 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 56 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 40 | #1,014 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 55 | #696 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 37 | #788 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 36 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 23 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 34 | #478 | 0.18 |
| 1909 | 30 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 21 | #564 | 0.14 |
| 1907 | 19 | #586 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 15 | #639 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 19 | #546 | 0.14 |
| 1904 | 14 | #642 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 25 | #398 | 0.21 |
| 1902 | 18 | #520 | 0.15 |
| 1901 | 8 | #851 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 22 | #516 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 13 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 12 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1897 | 7 | #934 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 14 | #587 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 15 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1894 | 8 | #848 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 19 | #431 | 0.17 |
| 1892 | 12 | #635 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 15 | #473 | 0.15 |
| 1890 | 17 | #455 | 0.15 |
| 1889 | 14 | #521 | 0.13 |
| 1888 | 10 | #697 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 18 | #406 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 14 | #508 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 16 | #477 | 0.15 |
| 1884 | 16 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 16 | #457 | 0.15 |
| 1882 | 11 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1881 | 12 | #531 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 12 | #563 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Tim a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Tim has been given almost only to boys: 188 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Tim: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Tim, and how old are they?
60,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 73% of the 83,546 Americans ever recorded as Tim. The median Tim alive today is 64 years old; half are between 60 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 143,982 people named Tim (493 women and girls, 143,489 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 66,133 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.2 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Tim rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,440 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 40,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 15,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,360 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 651 |
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 Tim born?
The states with the most babies named Tim are California, Ohio and Michigan, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 9,650 | #2,781 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 6,601 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 5,006 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 4,823 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Texas | 3,795 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 3,743 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Wisconsin | 2,997 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Minnesota | 2,887 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Missouri | 2,771 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,601 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Tim is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Tim is most over-represented in Oregon: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Tim 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 84,322 babies since 1880, Tim is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 37 of their 53 babies (70%), 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 Tim
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 Tim and names like it
- Compare Tim and TimmBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sTim peaked in 1960.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Tim since 1910.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Tim.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Tim alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with TMost given first.