Boys' name · since 1915
Welles
Since 1915, U.S. Social Security records show 470 babies named Welles, peaking in 2021. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #8,189 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,949 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 470
- born since 1915
- 2020s
- peak decade
Welles currently ranks #2949 among boys' names in America, with 470 babies recorded since 1915.
Social Security Administration records show Welles recorded 470 times among boys since 1915, holding rank #2949 nationally today, ahead of 79% of boys, peaking in the 2020s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 2025.
- #8,189 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #2,949 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 470 born since 1915
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Welles ranks #8,189 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,949 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 470 born since 1915, peaking in the 2020s.
- #8,189 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,949 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 470
- born since 1915
- 2020s
- peak decade
Welles's 470 recorded births place it above 81.99% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
6 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Welles compares
470 Top 45% higher than 55% 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
Welles's all-time total is 27% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Welles | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 470 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 56 | 34 | 22,252 |
Welles's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Welles's full recorded timeline at 2017, 79% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 21% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1915, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2021 peak of 56 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Welles popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–2025
- Peak year (2021)
- 56
- Annual births at peak, across 111 years of records
Welles popularity over time - girls
10 total births recorded since 2019 (Welles as girls' name)
Welles by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (237 births, 50% of the file).
2020s was Welles's strongest decade.
237 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 50% of all-time use.
Welles births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 10
1910s
10 births
- 2010s
2010s
223 births
- 2020s
2020s
237 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 237 births (50% of all-time use).
Welles by state
Where Welles concentrates geographically, total births since 1915
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 13 | 2.8% |
| #2 | California | | 12 | 2.6% |
| #3 | New York | | 7 | 1.5% |
| #4 | Massachusetts | | 5 | 1.1% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 5 | 1.1% |
| #6 | Texas | | 5 | 1.1% |
13 of 470 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 6 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Welles? ▼
Where does Welles sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Welles most popular? ▼
Where is Welles most popular? ▼
How long has the name Welles been used? ▼
What names are similar to Welles? ▼
What to do with Welles's data
- Pennsylvania records the most Welless (13 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Welles
Nearby Names Like Welles
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Welles
Compare Welles side by side: Welles vs Weldon Welles vs Wells Welles vs Wellington
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Welles
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Welles: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2021)
Similar record span (~110 yrs)
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, 1915–2025 (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 Welles 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.