Boys' name · since 2017
Tolkien
Since 2017, U.S. Social Security records show 25 babies named Tolkien, peaking in 2024. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #27,389 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #13,312 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 25
- born since 2017
- 2020s
- peak decade
25 babies have been named Tolkien since 2017, making it today's #13312 boys' name.
Tolkien has 25 recorded births among boys since 2017, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #13312 as of the latest data, more common than 4% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2017 to 2025.
- #27,389 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #13,312 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 25 born since 2017
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tolkien ranks #27,389 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #13,312 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 25 born since 2017, peaking in the 2020s.
- #27,389 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #13,312 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 25
- born since 2017
- 2020s
- peak decade
Tolkien's 25 recorded births place it above 39.7% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Tolkien compares
25 10th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Tolkien's all-time total is 93% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Tolkien | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 25 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 8 | 34 | 22,252 |
Tolkien's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Tolkien's SSA record in two at 2024 and the more recent half accounts for 52% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 48%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 2025, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2024 peak of 8, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Tolkien popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2017–2025
- Peak year (2024)
- 8
- Annual births at peak, across 9 years of records
Tolkien by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (19 births, 76% of the file).
2020s was Tolkien's strongest decade.
19 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 76% of all-time use.
Tolkien births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2010s 6
2010s
6 births
- 2020s
2020s
19 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 19 births (76% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Tolkien
Nearby Names Like Tolkien
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Tolkien
Compare Tolkien side by side: Tolkien vs Tolbert Tolkien vs Tollie Tolkien vs Toluwani
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Tolkien
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Tolkien: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2024)
Similar record span (~8 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 2017–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Tolkien draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.