Total births
85
Boys' name · since 1914
Wister
85 babies named Wister in U.S. Social Security records since 1914, with the highest year being 1923. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- 85
- total births
- 1914–1957
- years on record
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 40%
- born in that decade
85 boys have been named Wister since 1914, though it isn't currently a top-ranked name.
Wister has 85 recorded births among boys since 1914, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 1957.
- 85 total births
- 1914–1957 years on record
- 1920s peak decade
- 40% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
85 boys have been named Wister since 1914, peaking in the 1920s, last recorded in 1957.
- 85
- total births
- 1914–1957
- years on record
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 40%
- born in that decade
1920s
Peak decade
40% of everyone ever named Wister was born in this single decade.
1923
Single peak year
10 babies were named Wister in 1923 - its busiest year on record.
Wister's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Wister splits its recorded history at 1927: 47% of all births land in the more recent half, 53% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1914 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1923 peak of 10 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Wister at a glance
Last recorded 1957Peak year
1923
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1914
Wister popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–1957
- Peak year (1923)
- 10
- Annual births at peak, across 44 years of records
Wister by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1920s was Wister's strongest decade.
34 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 40% of all-time use.
Wister births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s
1910s
25 births
- 1920s
1920s
34 births
- 1930s 10
1930s
10 births
- 1940s 5
1940s
5 births
- 1950s 11
1950s
11 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 34 births (40% of all-time use).
Wister by state
Where Wister concentrates geographically, total births since 1914
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | South Carolina | | 5 | 5.9% |
South Carolina share of Wister's total US births 5.9%
5 of 85 births nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Wister? ▼
Wister has been given to 85 babies in the U.S. since 1914, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 1957. 10 babies were born in 1923, its single highest year.
When was Wister most popular? ▼
Wister was most popular in the 1920s decade with 34 total births. The single peak year was 1923.
Where is Wister most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Wister are South Carolina (5 births).
How long has the name Wister been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Wister since 1914 -- 44 years through the most recent 1957 data.
What names are similar to Wister? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Wisdom, Wisam, Wissam, Wise, and 3 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Wister's data
- Wister's decade-level peak was the 1920s (34 total births); usage has since declined to 11 in the 1950s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- South Carolina records the most Wisters (5 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. South Carolina names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Wister
Nearby Names Like Wister
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Wister
Wisdom Boy
#2661 1,146 births
Wisam Boy
#6585 305 births
Wissam Boy
#9273 257 births
Wise Boy
#7306 141 births
Wisin Boy
27 births
Compare Wister side by side: Wister vs Wisdom Wister vs Wisam Wister vs Wissam
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of June 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, 1914–1957 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Wister: Baby Name Since 1914 - 85 Births, Peak 1923." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/wister. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Wister 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 June 2026.