Ward — #3264 US boys' name
14,983 babies named Ward in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1961. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 77% of names given to boys today.
17% of everyone ever named Ward was born in this single decade.
341 babies were named Ward in 1961 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Ward
The Social Security Administration has registered 14,983 babies named Ward between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Ward currently holds the #3264 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1961, when 341 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Ward performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 2,510 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Ward shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 1,064 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Michigan and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Ward in 40 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Ward in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 14,983 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Ward at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Ward popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1961)
- 341
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #3264 among boys.
14,983 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1961 with 341 births in a single year.
Ward popularity over time — girls
84 total births recorded since 1916 (Ward as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Ward accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Ward by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 2,510 births that decade — 17% of Ward's all-time total
Ward decade highlights
- Peak decade 2,510 births
- Runner-up 2,240 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Ward's strongest decade
2,510 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 17% of all-time use.
Ward by state
Where Ward concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,064 | 7.1% |
| #2 | Michigan | | 883 | 5.9% |
| #3 | California | | 860 | 5.7% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 664 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 658 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 574 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Minnesota | | 401 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Iowa | | 333 | 2.2% |
1,064 of 14,983 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 7.1% of nationwide
- Michigan 5.9% of nationwide
- California 5.7% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 4.4% of nationwide
- Illinois 4.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 40 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 7.1% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Ward appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.