US rank #207 Boys' name Peak 1959 1,082,404 births

Timothy — #207 US boys' name

1,082,404 babies named Timothy in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1959. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s6931890s6511900s6471910s19181920s29601930s51061940s435031950s1983221960s2768191970s1812681980s1728341990s1077672000s524652010s282262020s9225
#207
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99% of names given to boys today.

1960s
Peak decade

26% of everyone ever named Timothy was born in this single decade.

1959
Single peak year

30,784 babies were named Timothy in 1959 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Timothy

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,082,404 babies named Timothy between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Timothy currently holds the #207 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1959, when 30,784 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Timothy performed strongest in the 1960s, accumulating 276,819 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Timothy shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 86,498 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Ohio. In total, SSA state-level files list Timothy in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Timothy 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 1,082,404 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.

Timothy at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

1,082,404

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1959

30,784 births that year

Strongest decade: 1960s

Current rank

#207

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Timothy popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1959)
30,784
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,00040,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 70

Timothy popularity over time — girls

4,326 total births recorded since 1921 (Timothy as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 4,326 births
-50050100150200 201620021992198219721962195219421921 8

Timothy by decade

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

Peak: 1960s
Peak decade
1960s
276,819 births that decade — 26% of Timothy's all-time total
1880s6931890s6511900s6471910s19181920s29601930s51061940s435031950s1983221960s2768191970s1812681980s1728341990s1077672000s524652010s282262020s9225

Timothy by state

Where Timothy concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Timothy
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
86,498 8.0%
#2 New York
75,872 7.0%
#3 Ohio
72,279 6.7%
#4 Pennsylvania
62,237 5.7%
#5 Illinois
62,005 5.7%
#6 Michigan
56,134 5.2%
#7 Texas
44,511 4.1%
#8 Indiana
33,110 3.1%
California share of Timothy's total US births 8.0%
Even split

86,498 of 1,082,404 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Timothy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Timothy?
1,082,404 babies have been named Timothy since 1880. It currently ranks #207 among boys. The peak year was 1959 with 30,784 births.
When was Timothy most popular?
Timothy was most popular in the 1960s decade with 276,819 total births. The single peak year was 1959.
Where is Timothy most popular?
The top states for the name Timothy are California (86,498 births), New York (75,872 births), Ohio (72,279 births).
How long has the name Timothy been used?
Timothy has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Timothy?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Tim, Timmy, Timmothy, Timmie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Timothy

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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.