Boys' name · since 1910

Wally

Wally has 4,954 recorded births since 1910 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1959 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#1,786 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#5,625 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
4,954
born since 1910
1960s
peak decade

Wally currently ranks #5625 among boys' names in America, with 4,954 babies recorded since 1910.

Social Security Administration records show Wally recorded 4,954 times among boys since 1910, holding rank #5625 nationally today, ahead of 60% of boys, peaking in the 1960s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1910 to 2025.

  • #1,786 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #5,625 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 4,954 born since 1910
  • 1960s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Wally ranks #1,786 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,625 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 4,954 born since 1910, peaking in the 1960s.

#1,786 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#5,625 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
4,954
born since 1910
1960s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%59.6%
Wally vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Wally's 4,954 recorded births place it above 96.07% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

28 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

28 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Wally compares

4,954 Top 13% higher than 87% of 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

Wally's all-time total is 13x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Wally Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 4,954 369 358,536
Peak-year births 185 34 22,252

Wally's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Wally splits its recorded history at 1967: 24% of all births land in the more recent half, 76% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1910 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1959 peak of 185 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Wally popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1910–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1959)
185
Annual births at peak, across 116 years of records
050100150200 191019251940195519701985200220172025 16

Wally popularity over time - girls

147 total births recorded since 1915 (Wally as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 147 births
051015202530 1915193719401943194819521954 6

Wally by decade

1960s is the heaviest window (1,054 births, 21% of the file).

1960s was Wally's strongest decade.

1,054 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.

Wally births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1960s at 1,054 births (21% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Wally compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Wally's total volume

Wally vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -61, 6%-146, 3.2%-74, 4.4%-103, 12.2%-63, 5.8%-112, 2.5%-67, 5%-111, 2.7%-142, 1.6%-105, 2.1%-51, 10.2%-37, 7.8%-59, 3.6%-72, 4.4%-146, 2.6%Wally-116, 3.7%Wally
Wally vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Wally by state

Where Wally concentrates geographically, total births since 1910

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Wally
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
445 9.0%
#2 Texas
294 5.9%
#3 Illinois
234 4.7%
#4 New York
179 3.6%
#5 Michigan
104 2.1%
#6 Washington
74 1.5%
#7 Ohio
68 1.4%
#8 Oregon
35 0.7%
California share of Wally's total US births 9.0%
Even split

445 of 4,954 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 28 reporting states.

Wally appears in 28 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Wally? ▼
4,954 babies have been named Wally since 1910. All-time, it sits at #1,786 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #5,625 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1959 with 185 births.
Where does Wally sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Wally ranks #1,786 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,625 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Wally most popular? ▼
Wally was most popular in the 1960s decade with 1,054 total births. The single peak year was 1959.
Where is Wally most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Wally are California (445 births), Texas (294 births), Illinois (234 births).
How long has the name Wally been used? ▼
Records for Wally go back to 1910, giving 116 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Wally? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Walter, Wallace, Walker, Walton, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Wally's data

  • Wally's decade-level peak was the 1960s (1,054 total births); usage has since declined to 85 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Wallys (445 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Wally

Nearby Names Like Wally

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Wally

Walter Boy
#251 631,172 births
Wallace Boy
#960 83,263 births
Walker Boy
#78 47,914 births
Walton Boy
#2422 5,889 births
Waldo Boy
#10704 5,716 births

Compare Wally side by side: Wally vs Walter Wally vs Wallace Wally vs Walker

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Wally

Delton #5624
4,751 births · Peak 1933
Cosimo #5626
1,016 births · Peak 1927
Georgie #5623
1,645 births · Peak 1928
Andrea #5627
6,029 births · Peak 1976
Vinson #5622
3,841 births · Peak 1969
Arlon #5628
1,472 births · Peak 1933
Pasquale #5621
10,138 births · Peak 1917
Arlyn #5629
2,181 births · Peak 1939

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Wally: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1910–2025 (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 Wally 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.