James
James is ranked 5th among boys in 2024 (11,793 births). It was the number one boy’s name in 1940–1952.
- Rank in 2024
- #5down 1 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 11,7930.69% of boys
- Peak year
- 194794,763 births
- Best rank
- #1first in 1940
- Since 1880
- 5,262,396people given the name
The story in the numbers
5,238,570 boys have been named James in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1947, with 94,763 births — 5.2% of all boys recorded that year.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 9 → 5).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1953, and the 1950s alone account for 16%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 145 of them in the top 100 and 124 in the top 10.
It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 23,826 girls have also been given it, 0.45% of the total.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named James | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 54,056 | |
| 1890s | 50,723 | |
| 1900s | 62,170 | |
| 1910s | 275,070 | |
| 1920s | 515,302 | |
| 1930s | 547,478 | |
| 1940s | 795,767 | |
| 1950s | 843,776 | |
| 1960s | 684,721 | |
| 1970s | 444,749 | |
| 1980s | 356,498 | |
| 1990s | 244,962 | |
| 2000s | 163,172 | |
| 2010s | 139,652 | |
| 2020s | 60,474 |
In 1947, its biggest year
James was the most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1947 were James, Robert, John, William and Richard. See all of 1947.
Names that rose and fell with James
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Allenpeak 1951
- Fredrickpeak 1953
- Thomaspeak 1952
- Stewartpeak 1956
- Eddiepeak 1947
- Martinpeak 1963
- Halpeak 1956
- Berniepeak 1960
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.