The most common first names in the U.S.
The 2020 Census counted 3,476,721 people named Michael, the most common first name (3,469,434 of them men and boys), and 1,768,343 named Mary (1,765,503 women and girls). Carried forward to 2026 with SSA’s life tables, SSA’s births give an estimated 3.54 million living men and boys born in the U.S. named Michael and 1.67 million women and girls named Mary. Of all time, the most given names are James (5,250,638 births since 1880) and Mary (4,141,481).
2020 Census: 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). Living estimate: SSA births since 1900 (published May 8, 2026) carried forward with SSA’s cohort life tables. Method.
The 2020 Census count against SSA’s births
The Census Bureau published how many people gave each first name in the 2020 Census. Carrying SSA’s births forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predicts each count to within 15% for 46 of the 50 most common names below (25 per sex); the Census counts everyone living in the U.S., SSA only people born here with a Social Security number.
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary | 1,765,503 | 1,977,934 | −11% |
| Maria | 1,649,077 | 464,029 | +255% |
| Jennifer | 1,330,100 | 1,406,085 | −5% |
| Elizabeth | 1,205,540 | 1,160,438 | +4% |
| Patricia | 1,188,870 | 1,155,627 | +3% |
| Linda | 1,164,024 | 1,174,477 | −1% |
| Susan | 979,207 | 932,306 | +5% |
| Jessica | 956,497 | 1,020,719 | −6% |
| Barbara | 942,288 | 955,620 | −1% |
| Karen | 880,756 | 849,201 | +4% |
| Sarah | 873,199 | 893,859 | −2% |
| Lisa | 863,633 | 896,002 | −4% |
| Sandra | 780,123 | 713,759 | +9% |
| Nancy | 771,926 | 718,839 | +7% |
| Michelle | 755,820 | 770,073 | −2% |
| Emily | 754,599 | 786,421 | −4% |
| Ashley | 741,112 | 833,381 | −11% |
| Amanda | 698,371 | 748,727 | −7% |
| Kimberly | 694,683 | 794,944 | −13% |
| Laura | 679,260 | 626,113 | +8% |
| Melissa | 674,625 | 721,471 | −6% |
| Stephanie | 657,151 | 704,488 | −7% |
| Rebecca | 644,902 | 661,873 | −3% |
| Donna | 634,502 | 649,056 | −2% |
| Amy | 624,622 | 642,266 | −3% |
Women and girls: #26 to #100
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah | 621,837 | 641,779 | −3% |
| Carol | 611,753 | 594,052 | +3% |
| Angela | 599,326 | 613,214 | −2% |
| Cynthia | 597,326 | 620,684 | −4% |
| Sharon | 582,621 | 589,672 | −1% |
| Margaret | 549,159 | 548,225 | 0% |
| Kathleen | 547,043 | 548,923 | 0% |
| Nicole | 543,303 | 573,093 | −5% |
| Brenda | 520,761 | 523,776 | −1% |
| Samantha | 516,848 | 568,200 | −9% |
| Anna | 512,297 | 452,050 | +13% |
| Emma | 497,435 | 501,505 | −1% |
| Pamela | 495,700 | 518,733 | −4% |
| Rachel | 493,154 | 508,493 | −3% |
| Christine | 482,038 | 481,967 | 0% |
| Heather | 473,139 | 505,995 | −6% |
| Katherine | 470,184 | 489,288 | −4% |
| Julie | 467,063 | 463,148 | +1% |
| Debra | 465,557 | 482,895 | −4% |
| Victoria | 451,974 | 448,377 | +1% |
| Olivia | 448,791 | 454,843 | −1% |
| Lauren | 446,061 | 459,622 | −3% |
| Kelly | 437,520 | 449,430 | −3% |
| Janet | 428,773 | 405,335 | +6% |
| Andrea | 424,111 | 411,052 | +3% |
| Christina | 423,090 | 446,308 | −5% |
| Diane | 422,404 | 425,455 | −1% |
| Catherine | 410,212 | 405,566 | +1% |
| Megan | 409,486 | 428,678 | −4% |
| Hannah | 402,223 | 417,750 | −4% |
| Teresa | 402,053 | 353,690 | +14% |
| Sara | 383,777 | 354,999 | +8% |
| Carolyn | 383,725 | 402,672 | −5% |
| Betty | 382,462 | 436,072 | −12% |
| Judith | 376,422 | 332,250 | +13% |
| Cheryl | 372,084 | 380,692 | −2% |
| Diana | 369,281 | 315,061 | +17% |
| Martha | 367,718 | 266,166 | +38% |
| Shirley | 358,593 | 383,734 | −7% |
| Madison | 355,609 | 385,453 | −8% |
| Jane | 354,381 | 226,234 | +57% |
| Julia | 348,856 | 313,430 | +11% |
| Abigail | 341,731 | 372,318 | −8% |
| Gloria | 331,031 | 265,083 | +25% |
| Jacqueline | 330,991 | 352,878 | −6% |
| Danielle | 327,524 | 358,703 | −9% |
| Sophia | 327,445 | 348,046 | −6% |
| Denise | 327,011 | 335,098 | −2% |
| Natalie | 323,601 | 336,391 | −4% |
| Joyce | 323,559 | 328,231 | −1% |
| Amber | 322,278 | 361,828 | −11% |
| Grace | 321,949 | 296,415 | +9% |
| Ana | 321,184 | 98,759 | +225% |
| Kathryn | 315,806 | 330,298 | −4% |
| Isabella | 308,625 | 342,385 | −10% |
| Dorothy | 304,548 | 336,623 | −10% |
| Kayla | 302,687 | 335,648 | −10% |
| Brittany | 302,372 | 352,507 | −14% |
| Janice | 302,069 | 304,497 | −1% |
| Lori | 299,196 | 313,527 | −5% |
| Joan | 296,830 | 278,692 | +7% |
| Alexis | 296,602 | 335,299 | −12% |
| Taylor | 293,715 | 319,317 | −8% |
| Erin | 293,703 | 304,351 | −3% |
| Evelyn | 293,177 | 291,846 | 0% |
| Tiffany | 292,918 | 328,253 | −11% |
| Ann | 292,674 | 287,320 | +2% |
| Kathy | 287,828 | 290,128 | −1% |
| Virginia | 285,956 | 273,842 | +4% |
| Ruth | 285,536 | 262,508 | +9% |
| Judy | 280,781 | 294,946 | −5% |
| Helen | 280,032 | 267,442 | +5% |
| Allison | 279,330 | 295,508 | −5% |
| Theresa | 278,643 | 285,840 | −3% |
| Tammy | 276,909 | 307,511 | −10% |
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | 3,469,434 | 3,705,937 | −6% |
| John | 3,118,620 | 2,967,750 | +5% |
| James | 2,992,500 | 3,159,547 | −5% |
| David | 2,810,463 | 2,840,198 | −1% |
| Robert | 2,756,604 | 2,862,157 | −4% |
| William | 2,237,906 | 2,335,247 | −4% |
| Daniel | 1,601,625 | 1,634,959 | −2% |
| Joseph | 1,598,759 | 1,741,829 | −8% |
| Richard | 1,574,600 | 1,610,113 | −2% |
| Thomas | 1,505,122 | 1,546,273 | −3% |
| Christopher | 1,497,658 | 1,902,085 | −21% |
| Matthew | 1,313,918 | 1,511,692 | −13% |
| Jose | 1,208,093 | 504,945 | +139% |
| Charles | 1,206,062 | 1,306,447 | −8% |
| Mark | 1,134,407 | 1,139,501 | 0% |
| Andrew | 1,073,982 | 1,127,427 | −5% |
| Anthony | 1,073,504 | 1,209,617 | −11% |
| Kevin | 1,013,440 | 1,062,396 | −5% |
| Brian | 1,009,891 | 1,055,998 | −4% |
| Steven | 971,970 | 1,095,383 | −11% |
| Joshua | 938,250 | 1,174,776 | −20% |
| Paul | 906,116 | 881,531 | +3% |
| Jason | 897,619 | 977,042 | −8% |
| Ryan | 853,642 | 906,717 | −6% |
| Jacob | 804,558 | 893,034 | −10% |
Men and boys: #26 to #100
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timothy | 802,219 | 936,448 | −14% |
| Eric | 765,929 | 805,992 | −5% |
| Kenneth | 754,856 | 849,234 | −11% |
| Jeffrey | 734,826 | 851,731 | −14% |
| Jonathan | 716,232 | 802,582 | −11% |
| Donald | 714,856 | 756,127 | −5% |
| Nicholas | 710,370 | 834,711 | −15% |
| Ronald | 689,245 | 736,230 | −6% |
| Justin | 666,981 | 748,410 | −11% |
| Stephen | 664,892 | 681,644 | −2% |
| Gary | 655,765 | 665,576 | −1% |
| Scott | 655,267 | 677,783 | −3% |
| Juan | 651,479 | 314,316 | +107% |
| Brandon | 640,794 | 736,304 | −13% |
| George | 630,400 | 612,878 | +3% |
| Edward | 615,401 | 651,907 | −6% |
| Benjamin | 605,580 | 668,912 | −9% |
| Samuel | 565,090 | 598,712 | −6% |
| Alexander | 554,289 | 631,392 | −12% |
| Patrick | 551,104 | 565,386 | −3% |
| Tyler | 527,058 | 577,176 | −9% |
| Larry | 511,764 | 562,223 | −9% |
| Gregory | 503,419 | 601,944 | −16% |
| Adam | 495,516 | 522,341 | −5% |
| Aaron | 491,571 | 545,054 | −10% |
| Luis | 488,505 | 258,717 | +89% |
| Nathan | 480,994 | 515,454 | −7% |
| Carlos | 471,886 | 263,886 | +79% |
| Peter | 463,907 | 407,561 | +14% |
| Dennis | 446,940 | 448,799 | 0% |
| Zachary | 434,625 | 524,979 | −17% |
| Kyle | 428,758 | 461,420 | −7% |
| Jack | 414,623 | 402,452 | +3% |
| Frank | 406,462 | 387,588 | +5% |
| Ethan | 402,294 | 432,519 | −7% |
| Christian | 398,291 | 413,881 | −4% |
| Douglas | 382,805 | 418,190 | −8% |
| Sean | 375,045 | 397,727 | −6% |
| Jeremy | 371,936 | 417,919 | −11% |
| Noah | 370,028 | 404,777 | −9% |
| Raymond | 363,746 | 398,452 | −9% |
| Jerry | 362,580 | 406,983 | −11% |
| Austin | 357,880 | 397,533 | −10% |
| Henry | 353,863 | 348,968 | +1% |
| Alex | 350,569 | 237,905 | +47% |
| Chris | 345,681 | 120,575 | +187% |
| Gabriel | 341,267 | 341,855 | 0% |
| Victor | 336,630 | 238,004 | +41% |
| Dylan | 331,355 | 373,319 | −11% |
| Jordan | 329,734 | 369,588 | −11% |
| Keith | 328,332 | 354,515 | −7% |
| Jesus | 327,747 | 207,646 | +58% |
| Bryan | 326,764 | 354,990 | −8% |
| Logan | 317,038 | 339,145 | −7% |
| Terry | 299,571 | 328,800 | −9% |
| Miguel | 295,341 | 167,637 | +76% |
| Roger | 294,387 | 288,435 | +2% |
| Antonio | 288,058 | 220,731 | +31% |
| Alan | 284,382 | 276,988 | +3% |
| Jesse | 283,766 | 323,817 | −12% |
| Jorge | 282,318 | 126,405 | +123% |
| Joe | 272,033 | 220,967 | +23% |
| Martin | 271,155 | 207,752 | +31% |
| Bruce | 267,471 | 270,331 | −1% |
| Luke | 266,792 | 269,364 | −1% |
| Mason | 266,724 | 290,675 | −8% |
| Angel | 264,086 | 229,384 | +15% |
| Caleb | 263,512 | 285,798 | −8% |
| Steve | 262,040 | 169,941 | +54% |
| Gerald | 257,833 | 251,826 | +2% |
| Joel | 254,446 | 231,843 | +10% |
| Shawn | 253,015 | 283,595 | −11% |
| Cameron | 252,960 | 277,220 | −9% |
| Elijah | 251,625 | 298,198 | −16% |
| Evan | 250,088 | 260,676 | −4% |
2020 Census: 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). SSA est.: the estimate for the same day, April 1, 2020, and the same sex, from SSA births since 1900 carried forward with SSA’s cohort life tables. Diff.: the Census count above (+) or below (−) it.
Names the Census counts far above SSA’s births
Where the Census counts many times more people than SSA’s births predict, the file itself does not say why (it records no birthplace), but two reasons are likely. The Census records the name people give, so men who go by a short form appear under it: Zach 18.4 times, Josh 8.9 times. And it counts everyone living in the U.S., including people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out; SSA also writes some compound names, such as María Guadalupe, as one word. Among women the list is led by Juana, Josefina and Francisca. Names with at least 25,000 people in the Census and 1,000 predicted.
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juana | 88,534 | 13,225 | 6.7× |
| Josefina | 45,490 | 9,540 | 4.8× |
| Francisca | 36,858 | 8,075 | 4.6× |
| Silvia | 80,632 | 18,239 | 4.4× |
| Olga | 101,464 | 25,319 | 4.0× |
| Blanca | 90,984 | 23,395 | 3.9× |
| Luz | 89,851 | 23,807 | 3.8× |
| Lidia | 33,800 | 9,240 | 3.7× |
| Marta | 53,818 | 14,752 | 3.6× |
| Maria | 1,649,077 | 464,029 | 3.5× |
| Rosario | 31,699 | 9,166 | 3.5× |
| Lourdes | 46,285 | 13,414 | 3.5× |
| Name | Census 2020 | SSA est. | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zach | 42,982 | 2,335 | 18.4× |
| Josh | 125,403 | 14,082 | 8.9× |
| Matt | 110,290 | 18,046 | 6.1× |
| Rob | 29,961 | 7,175 | 4.2× |
| Nick | 114,336 | 28,530 | 4.0× |
| Mohammad | 51,668 | 14,157 | 3.6× |
| Mohammed | 47,953 | 13,458 | 3.6× |
| Ed | 29,833 | 9,392 | 3.2× |
| Mohamed | 46,149 | 15,989 | 2.9× |
| Chris | 345,681 | 120,575 | 2.9× |
| Doug | 50,246 | 18,144 | 2.8× |
| Ken | 69,073 | 25,457 | 2.7× |
2020 Census: 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).
Michael and Mary lead the living, by the estimate
#2 James among the living
James is the most given boys’ name of all time; among the living it is behind Michael, whose median age is 51.
#1 Mary among the living
Mary is both the most given girls’ name of all time and the most common among the living; the median living Mary is 70.
Women and girls: the 10 most common names
Men and boys: the 10 most common names
Both charts share one scale.
Ranks among the living: the same estimate for every name.
The 25 most common names today, estimated
| # | Name | Alive, estimated | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 1.67 million | 70 |
| 2 | Jennifer | 1.39 million | 47 |
| 3 | Elizabeth | 1.13 million | 43 |
| 4 | Linda | 1.05 million | 73 |
| 5 | Jessica | 1.01 million | 39 |
| 6 | Patricia | 1.01 million | 71 |
| 7 | Sarah | 883,000 | 38 |
| 8 | Lisa | 869,000 | 58 |
| 9 | Susan | 860,000 | 68 |
| 10 | Ashley | 839,000 | 35 |
| 11 | Emily | 811,000 | 28 |
| 12 | Barbara | 798,000 | 74 |
| 13 | Karen | 791,000 | 65 |
| 14 | Kimberly | 785,000 | 52 |
| 15 | Michelle | 758,000 | 51 |
| 16 | Amanda | 744,000 | 40 |
| 17 | Melissa | 714,000 | 47 |
| 18 | Stephanie | 695,000 | 42 |
| 19 | Sandra | 645,000 | 69 |
| 20 | Rebecca | 643,000 | 48 |
| 21 | Amy | 637,000 | 49 |
| 22 | Nancy | 628,000 | 71 |
| 23 | Angela | 603,000 | 51 |
| 24 | Laura | 602,000 | 53 |
| 25 | Deborah | 601,000 | 69 |
| # | Name | Alive, estimated | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael | 3.54 million | 51 |
| 2 | James | 2.87 million | 58 |
| 3 | John | 2.68 million | 59 |
| 4 | David | 2.66 million | 56 |
| 5 | Robert | 2.52 million | 61 |
| 6 | William | 2.14 million | 55 |
| 7 | Christopher | 1.88 million | 42 |
| 8 | Joseph | 1.66 million | 44 |
| 9 | Daniel | 1.61 million | 41 |
| 10 | Matthew | 1.52 million | 37 |
| 11 | Thomas | 1.43 million | 58 |
| 12 | Richard | 1.41 million | 63 |
| 13 | Anthony | 1.19 million | 39 |
| 14 | Joshua | 1.19 million | 34 |
| 15 | Charles | 1.17 million | 59 |
| 16 | Andrew | 1.12 million | 35 |
| 17 | Mark | 1.07 million | 60 |
| 18 | Steven | 1.04 million | 56 |
| 19 | Kevin | 1.03 million | 47 |
| 20 | Brian | 1.02 million | 49 |
| 21 | Jason | 971,000 | 46 |
| 22 | Jacob | 925,000 | 26 |
| 23 | Ryan | 919,000 | 34 |
| 24 | Timothy | 898,000 | 52 |
| 25 | Nicholas | 838,000 | 32 |
Median age: half of the estimated living are younger, half older.
Method and limits
Births from SSA’s file for each year since 1900 are carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables for that birth year and sex; people born before 1937 are counted from the age they were in 1937, when most first got a number. Only people born in the United States who received a Social Security number are counted, so names common among immigrants are undercounted; the same survival rates apply to every name.
Life tables: SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, 2024 Trustees Report, cohort tables by sex; births: SSA national file.
Earlier work
Nate Silver and Allison McCann estimated the ages of living Americans by first name for FiveThirtyEight in 2014, from the same SSA births and SSA’s actuarial tables. This page repeats the idea with the 2025 files and SSA’s 2024 cohort tables, and keeps the estimate for every name on its own record.