Walter
Walter was given to 1,381 boys in 2025, #252 among boys’ names; 634,804 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 209,000 Americans named Walter and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (33% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 45 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Walter by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Walter mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Walter is “a male given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “ruler” (*waldą) and “army, host” (*harjaz).
A Germanic name, from Middle English Walter, from Old Northern French Waltier, from Frankish *Waltheri (compare Old High German Waltheri, which see for more details), from Proto-West Germanic *Waldahari, from Proto-Germanic *Waldaharjaz, from *waldą (“ruler”) + *harjaz (“army, host”). Related to Old English Waldhere. Compare herald and Harold, in which these elements are reversed.
/ˈwɔltɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Walter?
#252 among boys’ names, 2025
Walter rose from #309 in 2015 to #252 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.60 to 0.81 per 1,000.
13,418 babies in 1918, the peak
Walter peaked in 1918, when 13,418 babies were given it (13,338 boys, #11 among boys’ names). The 1,381 births of 2025 are 10% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,381 | #252 | 0.81 |
| 2024 | 1,269 | #271 | 0.74 |
| 2023 | 1,276 | #267 | 0.75 |
| 2022 | 1,278 | #269 | 0.73 |
| 2021 | 1,281 | #271 | 0.73 |
| 2020 | 1,240 | #272 | 0.72 |
| 2019 | 1,282 | #278 | 0.71 |
| 2018 | 1,313 | #271 | 0.72 |
| 2017 | 1,366 | #265 | 0.74 |
| 2016 | 1,172 | #302 | 0.62 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,158 | #309 | 0.60 |
| 2014 | 987 | #337 | 0.51 |
| 2013 | 939 | #342 | 0.50 |
| 2012 | 805 | #375 | 0.42 |
| 2011 | 801 | #374 | 0.42 |
| 2010 | 784 | #372 | 0.41 |
| 2009 | 789 | #384 | 0.40 |
| 2008 | 764 | #393 | 0.37 |
| 2007 | 810 | #380 | 0.39 |
| 2006 | 850 | #356 | 0.41 |
| 2005 | 770 | #375 | 0.39 |
| 2004 | 767 | #365 | 0.39 |
| 2003 | 775 | #355 | 0.39 |
| 2002 | 833 | #331 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 826 | #335 | 0.43 |
| 2000 | 949 | #308 | 0.48 |
| 1999 | 918 | #312 | 0.48 |
| 1998 | 896 | #313 | 0.47 |
| 1997 | 1,027 | #273 | 0.54 |
| 1996 | 1,035 | #272 | 0.55 |
| 1995 | 1,062 | #265 | 0.56 |
| 1994 | 1,152 | #250 | 0.60 |
| 1993 | 1,356 | #221 | 0.69 |
| 1992 | 1,421 | #218 | 0.71 |
| 1991 | 1,539 | #200 | 0.76 |
| 1990 | 1,614 | #191 | 0.79 |
| 1989 | 1,612 | #184 | 0.81 |
| 1988 | 1,610 | #175 | 0.84 |
| 1987 | 1,574 | #174 | 0.84 |
| 1986 | 1,715 | #156 | 0.93 |
| 1985 | 1,690 | #163 | 0.91 |
| 1984 | 1,689 | #161 | 0.94 |
| 1983 | 1,767 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1982 | 1,912 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1981 | 1,990 | #138 | 1.1 |
| 1980 | 2,009 | #137 | 1.1 |
| 1979 | 2,123 | #128 | 1.2 |
| 1978 | 1,991 | #131 | 1.2 |
| 1977 | 2,185 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1976 | 2,101 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1975 | 2,355 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1974 | 2,487 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1973 | 2,626 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1972 | 2,918 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1971 | 3,356 | #91 | 1.9 |
| 1970 | 3,584 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1969 | 3,569 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1968 | 3,589 | #83 | 2.1 |
| 1967 | 3,808 | #81 | 2.2 |
| 1966 | 4,057 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1965 | 4,483 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1964 | 4,843 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1963 | 5,068 | #77 | 2.5 |
| 1962 | 5,282 | #79 | 2.6 |
| 1961 | 5,467 | #74 | 2.6 |
| 1960 | 5,763 | #70 | 2.7 |
| 1959 | 6,128 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1958 | 6,316 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1957 | 6,707 | #58 | 3.1 |
| 1956 | 7,019 | #53 | 3.3 |
| 1955 | 7,299 | #51 | 3.5 |
| 1954 | 7,486 | #49 | 3.7 |
| 1953 | 7,509 | #45 | 3.8 |
| 1952 | 7,897 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1951 | 8,038 | #42 | 4.3 |
| 1950 | 7,798 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1949 | 8,297 | #37 | 4.7 |
| 1948 | 8,627 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1947 | 9,218 | #34 | 5.0 |
| 1946 | 8,668 | #30 | 5.3 |
| 1945 | 7,574 | #27 | 5.6 |
| 1944 | 8,159 | #26 | 6.0 |
| 1943 | 9,035 | #26 | 6.3 |
| 1942 | 8,682 | #26 | 6.3 |
| 1941 | 7,745 | #26 | 6.3 |
| 1940 | 7,723 | #25 | 6.7 |
| 1939 | 7,322 | #25 | 6.6 |
| 1938 | 7,560 | #26 | 6.8 |
| 1937 | 7,488 | #26 | 7.0 |
| 1936 | 7,536 | #26 | 7.3 |
| 1935 | 7,816 | #23 | 7.5 |
| 1934 | 8,092 | #21 | 7.8 |
| 1933 | 7,756 | #21 | 7.8 |
| 1932 | 8,667 | #21 | 8.3 |
| 1931 | 8,940 | #20 | 8.6 |
| 1930 | 9,731 | #19 | 8.9 |
| 1929 | 9,850 | #19 | 9.2 |
| 1928 | 10,651 | #18 | 9.6 |
| 1927 | 11,346 | #17 | 10.1 |
| 1926 | 11,774 | #17 | 10.6 |
| 1925 | 12,130 | #16 | 10.9 |
| 1924 | 12,696 | #16 | 11.2 |
| 1923 | 12,433 | #16 | 11.3 |
| 1922 | 12,631 | #15 | 11.6 |
| 1921 | 13,004 | #15 | 11.8 |
| 1920 | 13,294 | #13 | 12.5 |
| 1919 | 12,879 | #11 | 13.1 |
| 1918 | 13,338 | #11 | 13.2 |
| 1917 | 12,582 | #11 | 13.6 |
| 1916 | 11,760 | #11 | 13.2 |
| 1915 | 11,255 | #11 | 13.3 |
| 1914 | 8,962 | #10 | 13.7 |
| 1913 | 6,890 | #11 | 13.4 |
| 1912 | 5,809 | #11 | 13.5 |
| 1911 | 3,074 | #12 | 13.6 |
| 1910 | 2,596 | #13 | 13.4 |
| 1909 | 2,287 | #12 | 13.9 |
| 1908 | 2,192 | #12 | 14.2 |
| 1907 | 2,095 | #12 | 14.3 |
| 1906 | 1,934 | #12 | 14.5 |
| 1905 | 1,902 | #12 | 14.4 |
| 1904 | 1,873 | #12 | 14.6 |
| 1903 | 1,840 | #12 | 15.4 |
| 1902 | 1,858 | #12 | 15.1 |
| 1901 | 1,718 | #12 | 16.1 |
| 1900 | 2,298 | #12 | 15.3 |
| 1899 | 1,750 | #12 | 16.5 |
| 1898 | 2,002 | #13 | 16.3 |
| 1897 | 1,895 | #12 | 16.8 |
| 1896 | 2,017 | #13 | 16.9 |
| 1895 | 2,015 | #13 | 17.2 |
| 1894 | 2,010 | #13 | 17.4 |
| 1893 | 2,004 | #13 | 17.8 |
| 1892 | 2,229 | #13 | 18.3 |
| 1891 | 1,668 | #13 | 16.5 |
| 1890 | 1,905 | #13 | 17.2 |
| 1889 | 1,916 | #13 | 17.3 |
| 1888 | 2,040 | #13 | 16.9 |
| 1887 | 1,704 | #13 | 16.8 |
| 1886 | 1,880 | #13 | 17.0 |
| 1885 | 1,808 | #13 | 16.8 |
| 1884 | 1,902 | #13 | 16.6 |
| 1883 | 1,705 | #13 | 16.3 |
| 1882 | 1,805 | #13 | 15.9 |
| 1881 | 1,670 | #13 | 16.6 |
| 1880 | 1,755 | #13 | 15.9 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Walter a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Walter has been given almost only to boys: 3,632 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Walter: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Walter, and how old are they?
209,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 33% of the 634,804 Americans ever recorded as Walter. The median Walter alive today is 64 years old; half are between 45 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 244,847 people named Walter (426 women and girls, 244,421 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 241,958 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 28,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 86,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 41,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 23,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 15,800 |
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 Walter born?
The states with the most babies named Walter are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 51,671 | #336 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 47,592 | #260 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 32,337 | #202 | 1.0× |
| California | 25,984 | #461 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 25,784 | #397 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 25,758 | #272 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 24,106 | #486 | 1.4× |
| North Carolina | 21,864 | #255 | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 21,790 | #271 | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 21,464 | #164 | 0.9× |
Where Walter is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Walter is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 1.4 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 Walter 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 Walter
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 Walter and names like it
- Compare Walter and AlbertBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sWalter peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Walter since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Walter: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Walter.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Walter alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with WMost given first.