Walt
Walt was given to 35 boys in 2025, #3,375 among boys’ names; 2,634 Americans have been recorded with it since 1893 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,720 Americans named Walt and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 13 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Walt by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Walt mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Walt is “a diminutive of the male given name Walter.”
Clipping of Walter. The derogatory British sense is a reference to the fictional character Walter Mitty from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a mild-mannered pushover who has wild fantasies about his life in various daring roles.
/wɔːlt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Walt?
#3,375 among boys’ names, 2025
Walt rose from #4,697 in 2015 to #3,375 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 11.0 to 20.5 per million.
81 babies in 1959, the peak
Walt peaked in 1959, when 81 boys were given it, #841 among boys’ names. The 35 births of 2025 are 43% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 | #3,375 | 20.5 |
| 2024 | 34 | #3,450 | 19.7 |
| 2023 | 45 | #2,843 | 26.3 |
| 2022 | 43 | #2,955 | 24.6 |
| 2021 | 43 | #2,915 | 24.6 |
| 2020 | 42 | #2,881 | 24.3 |
| 2019 | 35 | #3,339 | 19.5 |
| 2018 | 42 | #2,888 | 23.1 |
| 2017 | 29 | #3,762 | 15.7 |
| 2016 | 30 | #3,675 | 15.8 |
Every recorded year (115)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 21 | #4,697 | 11.0 |
| 2014 | 29 | #3,685 | 15.1 |
| 2013 | 19 | #4,964 | 10.0 |
| 2012 | 15 | #5,971 | 7.9 |
| 2011 | 18 | #5,185 | 9.5 |
| 2010 | 16 | #5,716 | 8.3 |
| 2009 | 14 | #6,408 | 7.1 |
| 2008 | 10 | #8,280 | 4.9 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,872 | 4.3 |
| 2006 | 11 | #7,393 | 5.4 |
| 2005 | 8 | #9,056 | 4.0 |
| 2004 | 5 | #13,127 | 2.5 |
| 2003 | 5 | #12,674 | 2.5 |
| 2002 | 10 | #7,009 | 5.2 |
| 2001 | 11 | #6,416 | 5.7 |
| 2000 | 8 | #8,164 | 4.1 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,505 | 5.2 |
| 1998 | 6 | #9,585 | 3.1 |
| 1997 | 11 | #5,624 | 5.8 |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,931 | 3.7 |
| 1995 | 7 | #7,764 | 3.7 |
| 1994 | 7 | #7,731 | 3.6 |
| 1993 | 9 | #6,197 | 4.6 |
| 1991 | 11 | #5,078 | 5.4 |
| 1990 | 8 | #6,380 | 3.9 |
| 1989 | 6 | #7,868 | 3.0 |
| 1988 | 8 | #5,723 | 4.2 |
| 1987 | 12 | #3,944 | 6.4 |
| 1986 | 8 | #5,306 | 4.3 |
| 1985 | 14 | #3,390 | 7.6 |
| 1984 | 10 | #4,199 | 5.5 |
| 1983 | 15 | #3,062 | 8.4 |
| 1982 | 15 | #3,098 | 8.3 |
| 1981 | 16 | #2,889 | 8.9 |
| 1980 | 14 | #3,250 | 7.8 |
| 1979 | 11 | #3,802 | 6.4 |
| 1978 | 18 | #2,566 | 11.0 |
| 1977 | 13 | #3,193 | 7.9 |
| 1976 | 15 | #2,819 | 9.6 |
| 1975 | 19 | #2,357 | 12.2 |
| 1974 | 14 | #2,792 | 8.9 |
| 1973 | 21 | #2,029 | 13.5 |
| 1972 | 20 | #2,075 | 12.3 |
| 1971 | 23 | #1,913 | 13.0 |
| 1970 | 28 | #1,656 | 15.1 |
| 1969 | 27 | #1,600 | 15.1 |
| 1968 | 25 | #1,611 | 14.4 |
| 1967 | 35 | #1,285 | 20.1 |
| 1966 | 36 | #1,279 | 20.2 |
| 1965 | 28 | #1,480 | 15.1 |
| 1964 | 41 | #1,217 | 20.6 |
| 1963 | 52 | #1,067 | 25.6 |
| 1962 | 61 | #981 | 29.5 |
| 1961 | 53 | #1,076 | 25.0 |
| 1960 | 61 | #979 | 28.6 |
| 1959 | 81 | #841 | 37.9 |
| 1958 | 80 | #847 | 37.7 |
| 1957 | 54 | #1,039 | 25.0 |
| 1956 | 31 | #1,415 | 14.7 |
| 1955 | 28 | #1,481 | 13.6 |
| 1954 | 22 | #1,666 | 10.8 |
| 1953 | 17 | #1,954 | 8.6 |
| 1952 | 18 | #1,853 | 9.3 |
| 1951 | 17 | #1,900 | 9.0 |
| 1950 | 18 | #1,811 | 10.1 |
| 1949 | 22 | #1,613 | 12.4 |
| 1948 | 37 | #1,191 | 21.1 |
| 1947 | 52 | #997 | 28.4 |
| 1946 | 53 | #924 | 32.6 |
| 1945 | 47 | #953 | 34.9 |
| 1944 | 44 | #990 | 32.3 |
| 1943 | 44 | #1,017 | 30.8 |
| 1942 | 51 | #932 | 36.9 |
| 1941 | 39 | #1,050 | 31.8 |
| 1940 | 27 | #1,309 | 23.3 |
| 1939 | 30 | #1,218 | 27.1 |
| 1938 | 25 | #1,362 | 22.5 |
| 1937 | 23 | #1,439 | 21.6 |
| 1936 | 26 | #1,324 | 25.1 |
| 1935 | 26 | #1,352 | 25.0 |
| 1934 | 19 | #1,657 | 18.4 |
| 1933 | 13 | #2,089 | 13.1 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,708 | 18.2 |
| 1931 | 26 | #1,389 | 25.0 |
| 1930 | 25 | #1,494 | 22.8 |
| 1929 | 9 | #2,972 | 8.4 |
| 1928 | 25 | #1,520 | 22.6 |
| 1927 | 12 | #2,520 | 10.6 |
| 1926 | 20 | #1,786 | 18.0 |
| 1925 | 20 | #1,799 | 17.9 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,467 | 11.5 |
| 1923 | 10 | #2,931 | 9.1 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,478 | 11.9 |
| 1921 | 19 | #1,899 | 17.3 |
| 1920 | 13 | #2,451 | 12.2 |
| 1919 | 14 | #2,260 | 14.3 |
| 1918 | 12 | #2,533 | 11.8 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,721 | 10.8 |
| 1916 | 9 | #2,918 | 10.1 |
| 1915 | 8 | #3,064 | 9.4 |
| 1914 | 7 | #2,903 | 10.7 |
| 1912 | 8 | #2,038 | 18.6 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,365 | 38.9 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,225 | 43.2 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,171 | 44.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Walt a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Walt has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 115 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Walt: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Walt, and how old are they?
1,720 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 2,634 Americans ever recorded as Walt. The median Walt alive today is 53 years old; half are between 13 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 3,920 people named Walt (9 women and girls, 3,911 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,662 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.4 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Walt 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 | 124 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 543 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 303 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 145 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 164 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 444 |
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 Walt born?
The states with the most babies named Walt are California, Pennsylvania and Texas, with 62% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 153 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 67 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Texas | 40 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Ohio | 38 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Michigan | 23 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Washington | 22 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New York | 16 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Tennessee | 11 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| New Jersey | 10 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Utah | 10 | not ranked | 0.4× |
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 Walt with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Walt
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 Walt and names like it
- Compare Walt and DarelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sWalt peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Walt since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Walt.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Walt alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with WMost given first.