The Most Common Names in America, and How Common They Really Are
2026-07-08
We tend to know the common names by feel. James, John, Mary. But how common is common, really? Using the Social Security Administration's public record of every U.S. birth from 1880 to 2024, which covers 372,009,150 people across 104,819 different first names, we can put an exact number on it.
The all-time top ten
Here are the ten most given first names in American history, with how many people carry each one and the share of the population that works out to.
| Rank | Name | People | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 5,262,396 | 1 in 71 |
| 2 | John | 5,196,210 | 1 in 72 |
| 3 | Robert | 4,866,007 | 1 in 76 |
| 4 | Michael | 4,440,391 | 1 in 84 |
| 5 | William | 4,205,026 | 1 in 88 |
| 6 | Mary | 4,154,332 | 1 in 90 |
| 7 | David | 3,682,683 | 1 in 101 |
| 8 | Joseph | 2,672,746 | 1 in 139 |
| 9 | Richard | 2,585,535 | 1 in 144 |
| 10 | Charles | 2,441,151 | 1 in 152 |
James takes the top spot, shared by more than 5.2 million Americans. That is about 1 in every 71 people in the whole record. Even at number ten, Charles is shared by nearly 2.5 million people.
What "1 in 71" actually means
The rarity figure is simple. Take the total number of recorded births, 372 million, and divide by how many got a given name. James lands at 1 in 71, which is why you have met so many. A name given to a few hundred babies over 145 years lands in the millions, like 1 in 2 million, which is why you probably have not.
Notice that the entire top ten is Very Common, our label for any name shared by more than 1 in 200 people. Only a couple hundred names out of more than a hundred thousand are that widespread. Cracking the top ten is genuinely rare air.
The most common names in America today
The list above is an all-time count, and it is the answer to "what are the most common names in America". It is not the answer to "what names are most common now". Those are different questions with strikingly different answers.
Here are the most-given names to babies born since 2020, out of 16,751,358 births in that stretch of the record.
| Rank today | Name | Births since 2020 | Share | All-time rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam | 104,031 | 0.62% | 221 |
| 2 | Noah | 97,718 | 0.58% | 128 |
| 3 | Olivia | 82,268 | 0.49% | 115 |
| 4 | Oliver | 74,398 | 0.44% | 311 |
| 5 | Emma | 72,900 | 0.44% | 72 |
| 6 | Charlotte | 64,639 | 0.39% | 158 |
| 7 | Amelia | 63,375 | 0.38% | 295 |
| 8 | Sophia | 62,162 | 0.37% | 165 |
| 9 | Elijah | 60,935 | 0.36% | 195 |
| 10 | James | 60,840 | 0.36% | 1 |
| 11 | William | 57,494 | 0.34% | 5 |
| 12 | Mia | 57,073 | 0.34% | 257 |
| 13 | Isabella | 56,933 | 0.34% | 178 |
| 14 | Henry | 56,024 | 0.33% | 74 |
| 15 | Ava | 55,588 | 0.33% | 222 |
Look at the last column. Liam is the most popular name in America right now, and it sits at number 221 all time. Oliver is number 4 today and number 311 all time. These names are new arrivals at the top.
Meanwhile James, the all-time champion, ranks 10 among babies born since 2020, with 60,840 of them. Still popular, no longer dominant.
That gap is the whole point. An all-time list rewards names that were enormous for fifty years running. A current list shows what parents are choosing this decade. A name can be extremely common in the country and quietly rare in a kindergarten class, or the reverse.
The most common men's names
Nine of the all-time top ten are names given mostly to boys, so the men's list looks much like the overall one.
| Rank | Name | People | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James | 5,262,396 | 1 in 71 |
| 2 | John | 5,196,210 | 1 in 72 |
| 3 | Robert | 4,866,007 | 1 in 76 |
| 4 | Michael | 4,440,391 | 1 in 84 |
| 5 | William | 4,205,026 | 1 in 88 |
| 6 | David | 3,682,683 | 1 in 101 |
| 7 | Joseph | 2,672,746 | 1 in 139 |
| 8 | Richard | 2,585,535 | 1 in 144 |
| 9 | Charles | 2,441,151 | 1 in 152 |
| 10 | Thomas | 2,360,128 | 1 in 158 |
| 11 | Christopher | 2,074,303 | 1 in 179 |
| 12 | Daniel | 1,982,857 | 1 in 188 |
| 13 | Matthew | 1,652,565 | 1 in 225 |
| 14 | George | 1,494,369 | 1 in 249 |
| 15 | Anthony | 1,489,090 | 1 in 250 |
These are the classics that held the top of the list for decades at a time. Every one of them is shared by well over a million Americans.
The most common women's names
The women's list is where the picture changes.
| Rank | Name | People | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mary | 4,154,332 | 1 in 90 |
| 2 | Elizabeth | 1,687,089 | 1 in 221 |
| 3 | Patricia | 1,578,408 | 1 in 236 |
| 4 | Jennifer | 1,476,028 | 1 in 252 |
| 5 | Linda | 1,458,588 | 1 in 255 |
| 6 | Barbara | 1,440,537 | 1 in 258 |
| 7 | Margaret | 1,266,052 | 1 in 294 |
| 8 | Susan | 1,125,774 | 1 in 330 |
| 9 | Dorothy | 1,115,156 | 1 in 334 |
| 10 | Sarah | 1,099,063 | 1 in 338 |
| 11 | Jessica | 1,053,884 | 1 in 353 |
| 12 | Helen | 1,026,632 | 1 in 362 |
| 13 | Nancy | 1,007,116 | 1 in 369 |
| 14 | Betty | 1,004,638 | 1 in 370 |
| 15 | Karen | 990,595 | 1 in 376 |
Mary sits far out in front with 4,154,332 people, more than twice the next name on the list. After that the numbers fall away quickly. Elizabeth, at number 2, is shared by 1,687,089 people, which is 1 in 221.
Compare that with the men's list, where the top six are all above 3.6 million. The most common women's name in American history is shared by fewer people than the sixth most common men's name.
There is a real reason for that, and it is not that fewer girls were born. Girls' names spread across many more options and turn over faster from decade to decade, so no single one accumulates the way a men's classic does. Boys' names stayed concentrated on a short list for generations, and those totals piled up. Mary is the exception that proves it: it was close to the default girls' name for so long that it built a men's-list-sized total.
You can watch this happen name by name on the name popularity graph, which shows each name decade by decade.
One thing the list hides
An all-time list favors names that were huge for decades. Some of these, like Robert and Richard, peaked long ago and are far less common among babies today. Others are still going. The way to tell the difference is the name popularity graph, which shows each name decade by decade.
What counts as a common full name
A common first name is only half of a full name. Rarity multiplies when you add a last name. Pair a widely shared first name with a widely shared surname and you get a genuinely common full name, the kind where several people in one city might share it. Pair a common first name with an unusual surname and the whole name turns rare again, because the surname does the heavy lifting.
That is why the full picture needs both halves. See how the surname side works in how rare your last name is, or check yours directly with the surname rarity tool.
Common questions
What is the most common name in America? James, across the full 1880 to 2024 record. It is shared by more than 5.2 million people, or about 1 in 71 of everyone in the count.
What are the most common first names in the US? The all-time top ten are James, John, Robert, Michael, William, Mary, David, Joseph, Richard, and Charles. Mary is the only one given mostly to girls.
Is James still the most common name today? It leads the all-time count, but names shift by decade. Some classics on the list peaked long ago and are less common among babies now. The name popularity graph shows the difference between all-time totals and today's births.
How many first names are there in the US? The Social Security record holds 104,819 different first names across 372 million people. Only a couple hundred are shared by more than 1 in 200 people, which is what makes the top ten so rare.
What is the most common name in America right now? Liam, among babies born since 2020, with 104,031 births in that stretch. Olivia leads the girls' names with 82,268. Neither is anywhere near the top of the all-time list, where Liam sits at number 221.
What is the most common male name? James, shared by 5,262,396 people, or about 1 in 71. The rest of the top five are John, Robert, Michael, and William.
What is the most common female name? Mary, shared by 4,154,332 people, or about 1 in 90. Elizabeth, Patricia, Jennifer, and Linda round out the top five.
Why are men's names more common than women's names? Because they concentrate. Boys' names stayed on a short list of classics for generations while girls' names spread across far more options and changed faster, so men's names accumulate much larger all-time totals. Mary is the only girls' name in the overall top ten.
What is the most common full name? There is no single record, but a full name pairing a top-ten first name with a top surname, like a common James or Mary paired with a widespread last name, is about as common as full names get. Add an unusual surname and the whole name turns rare.
Curious where your own name lands on this scale? Check how common your name is, or run the full Name Rarity Checker to see your rank, your tier, and a card you can share.