Urban
Urban was given to 18 boys in 2025, #5,372 among boys’ names; 3,264 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,030 Americans named Urban and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (32% of everyone recorded); the median is 21 years old and half are between 11 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Urban by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Urban mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Urban is “a male given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “of the town or city, urbane” (urbānus).
Latin Urbānus, name of eight early popes, from urbānus (“of the town or city, urbane”). Doublet of Orban.
/ˈɜɹbən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Urban?
#5,372 among boys’ names, 2025
Urban fell from #3,221 in 2015 to #5,372 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 18.8 to 10.5 per million.
104 babies in 1924, the peak
Urban peaked in 1924, when 104 boys were given it, #633 among boys’ names. The 18 births of 2025 are 17% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 18 | #5,372 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 16 | #5,874 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 10 | #8,209 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 24 | #4,425 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 30 | #3,728 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 24 | #4,261 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 39 | #3,095 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 27 | #3,980 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 30 | #3,663 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 35 | #3,286 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (130)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 36 | #3,221 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 24 | #4,250 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 22 | #4,450 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 34 | #3,290 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 34 | #3,301 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 30 | #3,625 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 24 | #4,267 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 21 | #4,696 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 20 | #4,790 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 11 | #7,384 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 9 | #8,253 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 6 | #11,261 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 5 | #12,653 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 6 | #10,470 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 6 | #10,282 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 5 | #11,225 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,916 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 8 | #6,932 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 7 | #7,582 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 6 | #8,183 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 6 | #8,058 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 10 | #4,759 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 6 | #6,900 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 9 | #4,825 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 5 | #7,525 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 6 | #6,346 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 5 | #7,231 | under 0.01 |
| 1980 | 9 | #4,474 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 6 | #6,018 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 6 | #5,552 | under 0.01 |
| 1973 | 5 | #5,840 | under 0.01 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,643 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2,883 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 6 | #4,381 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 9 | #3,093 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 11 | #2,614 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 5 | #4,400 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 17 | #2,032 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 19 | #1,895 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 10 | #2,838 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 24 | #1,682 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 22 | #1,765 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 21 | #1,801 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 25 | #1,588 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 20 | #1,830 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 13 | #2,355 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 26 | #1,535 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 11 | #2,582 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 18 | #1,896 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 16 | #2,000 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 29 | #1,402 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 13 | #2,200 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 20 | #1,699 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 27 | #1,427 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 26 | #1,477 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 19 | #1,687 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 20 | #1,532 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 16 | #1,804 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 28 | #1,339 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 27 | #1,357 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 34 | #1,149 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 23 | #1,429 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 33 | #1,138 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 28 | #1,274 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 30 | #1,231 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 31 | #1,203 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 40 | #1,018 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 34 | #1,147 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 39 | #1,050 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 38 | #1,109 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 60 | #815 | 0.06 |
| 1930 | 52 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1929 | 56 | #899 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 67 | #804 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 61 | #870 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 54 | #928 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 88 | #689 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 104 | #633 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 101 | #639 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 73 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 91 | #681 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 88 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 90 | #648 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 87 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 89 | #632 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 92 | #611 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 67 | #732 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 64 | #638 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 44 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 39 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 13 | #973 | 0.06 |
| 1910 | 13 | #924 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 16 | #710 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 11 | #872 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,191 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,236 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,410 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 14 | #643 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 10 | #780 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 13 | #646 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 11 | #679 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 10 | #899 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 12 | #608 | 0.11 |
| 1898 | 12 | #659 | 0.10 |
| 1897 | 17 | #494 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 9 | #819 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 7 | #970 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 20 | #435 | 0.17 |
| 1893 | 12 | #611 | 0.11 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,057 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 7 | #875 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 10 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1888 | 10 | #700 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 6 | #911 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 11 | #600 | 0.10 |
| 1884 | 6 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 7 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1882 | 5 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 5 | #984 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 10 | #633 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Urban a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Urban has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 130 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Urban: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Urban, and how old are they?
1,030 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 32% of the 3,264 Americans ever recorded as Urban. The median Urban alive today is 21 years old; half are between 11 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 1,207 people named Urban (17 women and girls, 1,190 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,063 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 99 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 246 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 68 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 71 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 208 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 332 |
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 Urban born?
The states with the most babies named Urban are Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana, with 54% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Minnesota and Indiana are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 255 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Minnesota | 91 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Indiana | 81 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 77 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Wisconsin | 72 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Iowa | 46 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 42 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 30 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| New York | 21 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Urban is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Urban is most over-represented in Ohio: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Urban 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 3,321 babies since 1880, Urban is the most given (98% of them).
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 Urban
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 Urban and names like it
- Compare Urban and UrbainBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sUrban peaked in 1924.
- Ohio’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Urban since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Urban: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1924The year the most babies were named Urban.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Urban alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with UMost given first.