Winston
Winston was given to 830 boys in 2025, #382 among boys’ names; 32,956 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 23,300 Americans named Winston and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (71% of everyone recorded); the median is 23 years old and half are between 8 and 51.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Winston by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Winston mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Winston is “a male given name derived from the place name.” Its etymology gives the sense “farm, village” (tūn).
From Old English personal name Wine, in the genitive singular case Wines + tūn (“farm, village”).
/ˈwɪn.stən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Winston?
#382 among boys’ names, 2025
Winston rose from #523 in 2015 to #382 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.29 to 0.49 per 1,000.
866 babies in 2019, the peak
Winston peaked in 2019, when 866 babies were given it (860 boys, #372 among boys’ names). The 830 births of 2025 are 96% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 830 | #382 | 0.49 |
| 2024 | 799 | #405 | 0.46 |
| 2023 | 798 | #398 | 0.47 |
| 2022 | 761 | #420 | 0.44 |
| 2021 | 762 | #409 | 0.44 |
| 2020 | 726 | #408 | 0.42 |
| 2019 | 860 | #372 | 0.48 |
| 2018 | 790 | #404 | 0.43 |
| 2017 | 782 | #405 | 0.42 |
| 2016 | 649 | #472 | 0.34 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 551 | #523 | 0.29 |
| 2014 | 518 | #538 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 394 | #625 | 0.21 |
| 2012 | 399 | #614 | 0.21 |
| 2011 | 305 | #745 | 0.16 |
| 2010 | 238 | #882 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 270 | #821 | 0.14 |
| 2008 | 270 | #815 | 0.13 |
| 2007 | 239 | #870 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 225 | #879 | 0.11 |
| 2005 | 244 | #794 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 215 | #829 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 196 | #875 | 0.10 |
| 2002 | 218 | #793 | 0.11 |
| 2001 | 213 | #794 | 0.11 |
| 2000 | 249 | #703 | 0.13 |
| 1999 | 264 | #656 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 210 | #762 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 206 | #736 | 0.11 |
| 1996 | 247 | #668 | 0.13 |
| 1995 | 243 | #678 | 0.13 |
| 1994 | 244 | #663 | 0.13 |
| 1993 | 255 | #646 | 0.13 |
| 1992 | 279 | #618 | 0.14 |
| 1991 | 290 | #596 | 0.14 |
| 1990 | 282 | #595 | 0.14 |
| 1989 | 253 | #623 | 0.13 |
| 1988 | 226 | #634 | 0.12 |
| 1987 | 223 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1986 | 192 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1985 | 223 | #590 | 0.12 |
| 1984 | 185 | #630 | 0.10 |
| 1983 | 152 | #696 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 178 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 181 | #634 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 177 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 153 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 172 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 181 | #626 | 0.11 |
| 1976 | 149 | #678 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 161 | #644 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 144 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 159 | #628 | 0.10 |
| 1972 | 162 | #618 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 207 | #566 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 180 | #608 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 190 | #569 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 160 | #602 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 188 | #545 | 0.11 |
| 1966 | 208 | #529 | 0.12 |
| 1965 | 233 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1964 | 198 | #563 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 207 | #552 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 177 | #588 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 206 | #550 | 0.10 |
| 1960 | 189 | #568 | 0.09 |
| 1959 | 196 | #553 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 194 | #554 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 256 | #489 | 0.12 |
| 1956 | 270 | #459 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 284 | #435 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 270 | #442 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 262 | #440 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 262 | #432 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 250 | #428 | 0.13 |
| 1950 | 290 | #398 | 0.16 |
| 1949 | 267 | #417 | 0.15 |
| 1948 | 288 | #401 | 0.16 |
| 1947 | 275 | #412 | 0.15 |
| 1946 | 271 | #395 | 0.17 |
| 1945 | 271 | #361 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 370 | #314 | 0.27 |
| 1943 | 547 | #259 | 0.38 |
| 1942 | 523 | #254 | 0.38 |
| 1941 | 542 | #234 | 0.44 |
| 1940 | 329 | #310 | 0.28 |
| 1939 | 174 | #432 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 174 | #437 | 0.16 |
| 1937 | 194 | #405 | 0.18 |
| 1936 | 174 | #425 | 0.17 |
| 1935 | 175 | #423 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 198 | #392 | 0.19 |
| 1933 | 183 | #399 | 0.18 |
| 1932 | 208 | #390 | 0.20 |
| 1931 | 177 | #427 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 200 | #417 | 0.18 |
| 1929 | 201 | #416 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 206 | #419 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 237 | #384 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 230 | #391 | 0.21 |
| 1925 | 224 | #401 | 0.20 |
| 1924 | 262 | #373 | 0.23 |
| 1923 | 213 | #411 | 0.19 |
| 1922 | 257 | #376 | 0.24 |
| 1921 | 289 | #354 | 0.26 |
| 1920 | 211 | #405 | 0.20 |
| 1919 | 208 | #405 | 0.21 |
| 1918 | 222 | #401 | 0.22 |
| 1917 | 207 | #390 | 0.22 |
| 1916 | 194 | #398 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 197 | #381 | 0.23 |
| 1914 | 158 | #378 | 0.24 |
| 1913 | 92 | #450 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 95 | #396 | 0.22 |
| 1911 | 35 | #505 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 20 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 35 | #427 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 36 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1907 | 21 | #539 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 20 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1905 | 20 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1904 | 14 | #646 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 13 | #655 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 11 | #740 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 12 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1900 | 13 | #740 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 9 | #785 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 17 | #522 | 0.14 |
| 1897 | 11 | #679 | 0.10 |
| 1896 | 12 | #673 | 0.10 |
| 1895 | 7 | #974 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 7 | #950 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 8 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 8 | #859 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,124 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 6 | #992 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 7 | #877 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,175 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 6 | #916 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 8 | #756 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,123 | 0.04 |
| 1883 | 6 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 5 | #1,051 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Winston a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Winston has been given almost only to boys: 162 girls in 143 years of records.
Girls and boys named Winston: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Winston, and how old are they?
23,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 71% of the 32,956 Americans ever recorded as Winston. The median Winston alive today is 23 years old; half are between 8 and 51.
The 2020 Census counted 24,635 people named Winston (161 women and girls, 24,474 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 20,178 born in the U.S. The Census count is 22% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,170 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,490 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,490 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 9,220 |
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 Winston born?
The states with the most babies named Winston are California, Texas and Kentucky, with 21% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Kentucky is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 71 | #450 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 56 | #571 | 1.0× |
| Kentucky | 42 | #137 | 1.0× |
| Tennessee | 37 | #243 | 1.4× |
| Florida | 34 | #529 | 1.1× |
| New York | 29 | #559 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 27 | #410 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 27 | #395 | 0.4× |
| Washington | 26 | #300 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 25 | #446 | 1.1× |
Where Winston is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Winston is most over-represented in Alabama: since 1910 it was given 2.4 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 Winston with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 33,672 babies since 1880, Winston is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 830 of their 869 babies (96%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Winston
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 Winston and names like it
- Compare Winston and WynstonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sWinston peaked in 2019.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Winston since 1910.
- From place namesWiktionary’s origin for Winston: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2019The year the most babies were named Winston.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Winston alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with WMost given first.