West

boys’ nameComeback · modern nameCompare

West is outside the top 1,000 in 2024, with 143 births. Its best rank was 396th, in 1886.

Rank in 2024: —outside the top 1,000
Births in 2024: 1430.01% of boys
Peak year: 2024143 births
Best rank: #396in 1886
Since 1880: 3,530people given the name

Babies named West, by year of birthboys

The story in the numbers

3,530 boys have been named West in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2024, with 143 births.

This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1988, and the 2010s alone account for 21%. It has spent 32 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)

By decade

Decade	boys named West
1880s	128
1890s	111
1900s	112
1910s	224
1920s	254
1930s	165
1940s	153
1950s	171
1960s	151
1970s	148
1980s	166
1990s	173
2000s	311
2010s	733
2020s	530

In 2024, its biggest year

West was outside the top 1,000 that year. The top five boys’ names of 2024 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and James. See all of 2024.

Names that rose and fell with West

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

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.