The most common male name in the US is Michael: about 3,595,413 people alive today have it, by How Many of Mee’s estimate from Social Security records. Among babies, the most common boy name is Liam, given to 20,818 boys in 2025 and #1 every year since 2017. This guide lists the 50 most common male names with their meanings, the most common names of each generation, the boy names parents choose now, and uncommon boy names.
What Is the Most Common Boy Name?
It depends on what you count. By people alive, it is Michael. By babies born now, it is Liam. By every boy born since 1880, it is James: 5,250,638 boys. Names that were popular long ago have fewer people alive, so the order changes:
| Name | Boys born since 1880 | People alive | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|
| James | 5,250,638 | 2,933,167 | 1947 |
| John | 5,182,633 | 2,737,543 | 1947 |
| Robert | 4,849,730 | 2,587,916 | 1947 |
| Michael | 4,426,753 | 3,595,413 | 1957 |
| William | 4,199,696 | 2,184,188 | 1947 |
| David | 3,676,654 | 2,705,330 | 1955 |
| Joseph | 2,669,490 | 1,681,563 | 1956 |
| Richard | 2,577,552 | 1,444,184 | 1946 |
| Charles | 2,434,659 | 1,200,833 | 1947 |
| Thomas | 2,358,576 | 1,456,153 | 1952 |
What Are the 50 Most Common Male Names?
These are the 50 male names with the most people alive in the US. A name counts as male here when more than 80% of the people who have it are male. Average age is the average age of everyone alive with the name. Meanings are from Behind the Name where it gives one. The 100 most common boy names continue the list.
| Name | Meaning | People alive | Average age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Michael | who is like God? | 3,595,413 | 48.4 |
| 2. James | – | 2,933,167 | 53.7 |
| 3. John | Yahweh is gracious | 2,737,543 | 54.4 |
| 4. David | beloved | 2,705,330 | 51.6 |
| 5. Robert | bright fame | 2,587,916 | 57.0 |
| 6. William | – | 2,184,188 | 50.3 |
| 7. Christopher | bearing Christ | 1,901,526 | 39.7 |
| 8. Joseph | he will add | 1,681,563 | 44.7 |
| 9. Daniel | God is my judge | 1,627,478 | 41.1 |
| 10. Matthew | gift of Yahweh | 1,532,905 | 35.3 |
| 11. Thomas | twin | 1,456,153 | 52.3 |
| 12. Richard | brave power | 1,444,184 | 59.2 |
| 13. Anthony | – | 1,208,050 | 39.3 |
| 14. Charles | man | 1,200,833 | 53.8 |
| 15. Joshua | Yahweh is salvation | 1,196,609 | 31.6 |
| 16. Andrew | manly, masculine | 1,132,748 | 35.1 |
| 17. Mark | form of Marcus | 1,089,235 | 54.8 |
| 18. Steven | crown | 1,051,174 | 51.6 |
| 19. Kevin | – | 1,044,098 | 44.5 |
| 20. Brian | – | 1,032,499 | 46.8 |
| 21. Jason | to heal | 979,329 | 40.9 |
| 22. Ryan | descendant of Rían | 947,873 | 31.6 |
| 23. Jacob | – | 928,992 | 25.1 |
| 24. Timothy | honoring God | 910,454 | 49.1 |
| 25. Nicholas | – | 843,187 | 32.0 |
| 26. Jeffrey | form of Geoffrey | 820,282 | 52.3 |
| 27. Jonathan | Yahweh has given | 816,854 | 33.6 |
| 28. Paul | – | 812,023 | 56.1 |
| 29. Eric | – | 797,236 | 42.9 |
| 30. Kenneth | – | 779,306 | 56.7 |
| 31. Justin | – | 754,068 | 33.4 |
| 32. Brandon | hill covered with broom | 742,477 | 31.6 |
| 33. Benjamin | – | 719,177 | 28.7 |
| 34. Alexander | – | 675,601 | 24.7 |
| 35. Scott | – | 654,995 | 52.2 |
| 36. Ronald | form of Ragnvaldr | 653,519 | 63.0 |
| 37. Donald | – | 650,028 | 63.5 |
| 38. Stephen | crown | 646,037 | 52.8 |
| 39. Samuel | – | 627,417 | 31.2 |
| 40. Tyler | tiler of roofs | 601,736 | 27.1 |
| 41. Gary | spear | 601,058 | 63.8 |
| 42. Edward | rich guard | 590,424 | 55.9 |
| 43. Gregory | watchful, alert | 576,069 | 53.3 |
| 44. Aaron | – | 565,845 | 32.8 |
| 45. Patrick | nobleman | 551,086 | 45.9 |
| 46. George | farmer, earthworker | 548,028 | 56.9 |
| 47. Nathan | he gave | 539,802 | 28.7 |
| 48. Adam | man | 536,830 | 34.1 |
| 49. Zachary | form of Zacharias | 533,962 | 28.2 |
| 50. Noah | rest, comfort | 518,382 | 14.6 |
Of the 50, 22 peaked between 1940 and 1969, and 7 have an average age under 30: Jacob, Benjamin, Alexander, Tyler, Nathan, Zachary and Noah.
What Are the Most Common Male Names by Generation?
Each column ranks the male names by the people alive in that age group in 2025. Under 30 means born 1996 to 2025; 30 to 59 means born 1966 to 1995; 60 and over means born in 1965 or earlier.
| Under 30 | 30 to 59 | 60 and over |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jacob (611,667) | 1. Michael (1,861,159) | 1. James (1,369,514) |
| 2. Michael (587,682) | 2. Christopher (1,303,998) | 2. Robert (1,333,088) |
| 3. Matthew (508,787) | 3. David (1,152,791) | 3. John (1,315,464) |
| 4. William (498,570) | 4. James (1,113,029) | 4. Michael (1,146,572) |
| 5. Noah (487,148) | 5. John (1,030,398) | 5. David (1,129,376) |
| 6. Daniel (479,759) | 6. Robert (1,000,738) | 6. William (933,224) |
| 7. Joshua (476,353) | 7. Matthew (955,479) | 7. Richard (824,044) |
| 8. James (450,624) | 8. Daniel (799,687) | 8. Thomas (670,315) |
| 9. Joseph (445,894) | 9. Jason (779,443) | 9. Charles (584,676) |
| 10. Christopher (444,615) | 10. Joseph (756,302) | 10. Mark (532,508) |
| 11. Alexander (437,482) | 11. William (752,395) | 11. Joseph (479,367) |
| 12. Ethan (432,423) | 12. Joshua (716,282) | 12. Donald (432,928) |
| 13. Andrew (430,688) | 13. Brian (693,236) | 13. Ronald (431,327) |
| 14. David (423,163) | 14. Andrew (596,467) | 14. Gary (425,093) |
| 15. Anthony (417,427) | 15. Kevin (563,969) | 15. Steven (415,348) |
Five names are in both the youngest and the oldest list: Michael, William, James, Joseph and David. The rest changed completely from one generation to the next.
What Are the Most Popular Boy Names Now?
These are the 25 names given to the most baby boys in 2025, with their rank ten years earlier. Of the top 10, only Noah, James and William are also among the 50 most common male names alive. The full top 100 is on the page for the most popular names of 2025.
| Name | Meaning | Boys in 2025 | Rank in 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Liam | form of William | 20,818 | #2 |
| 2. Noah | rest, comfort | 20,358 | #1 |
| 3. Oliver | – | 14,939 | #19 |
| 4. Theodore | – | 13,355 | #99 |
| 5. Henry | – | 12,020 | #29 |
| 6. James | – | 11,945 | #7 |
| 7. Elijah | my God is Yahweh | 11,111 | #11 |
| 8. Mateo | form of Matthew | 11,045 | #85 |
| 9. William | – | 10,545 | #5 |
| 10. Lucas | form of Luke | 10,219 | #16 |
| 11. Benjamin | – | 9,762 | #10 |
| 12. Levi | joined, attached | 9,642 | #42 |
| 13. Elias | – | 8,837 | #100 |
| 14. Luca | form of Luke | 8,759 | #157 |
| 15. Jack | Yahweh is gracious | 8,748 | #40 |
| 16. Sebastian | from Sebaste | 8,605 | #35 |
| 17. Hudson | son of Hudde | 8,583 | #65 |
| 18. Samuel | – | 8,334 | #23 |
| 19. Leo | lion | 8,173 | #91 |
| 20. Ezra | help | 8,126 | #93 |
| 21. Michael | who is like God? | 8,094 | #9 |
| 22. Daniel | God is my judge | 8,085 | #12 |
| 23. John | Yahweh is gracious | 8,027 | #26 |
| 24. Ethan | solid, enduring, firm | 7,852 | #6 |
| 25. Julian | – | 7,603 | #45 |
What Are Some Uncommon Boy Names?
These boy names are still chosen, ranked #201 to #600 among boys born in 2025, but fewer than 100,000 people alive in the US have any of them. 176 names fit; these 30 are picked from across the alphabet among those Behind the Name gives a meaning for:
| Name | Meaning | People alive | Rank in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adonis | lord | 21,344 | #241 |
| Angelo | form of Angel | 59,860 | #304 |
| Atticus | from Attica | 18,278 | #281 |
| Brady | descendant of Brádach | 93,723 | #321 |
| Callahan | descendant of Ceallachán | 6,985 | #227 |
| Chance | form of Chauncey | 54,652 | #442 |
| Corbin | raven | 40,544 | #512 |
| Dante | enduring | 48,692 | #308 |
| Elio | form of Aelius | 4,584 | #388 |
| Esteban | form of Stephen | 33,317 | #461 |
| Forrest | forest | 31,133 | #374 |
| Hamza | strong, steadfast | 10,453 | #541 |
| Ibrahim | form of Abraham | 17,651 | #351 |
| Johan | form of John | 14,325 | #572 |
| Kaleb | dog | 85,449 | #295 |
| Kieran | form of Ciarán | 18,651 | #389 |
| Lawson | son of Laurence (1) | 16,371 | #381 |
| Lucian | form of Lucianus | 11,148 | #462 |
| Marcelo | form of Marcellus | 12,301 | #399 |
| Maximiliano | form of Maximilian | 23,567 | #280 |
| Moshe | form of Moses | 17,469 | #436 |
| Niko | form of Nicholas | 14,946 | #325 |
| Paxton | Pœcc’s town | 29,923 | #338 |
| Rafael | form of Raphael | 80,230 | #218 |
| Rhys | enthusiasm | 14,986 | #412 |
| Royce | from a surname | 25,194 | #500 |
| Sergio | form of Sergius | 77,851 | #441 |
| Titus | title of honor | 25,203 | #358 |
| Wade | from a surname | 57,403 | #344 |
| Zander | form of Xander | 28,501 | #397 |
For names fewer than 10,000 people have, see the rare boy names.
Are Male Names Less Varied Than Female Names?
Yes. In 2025, the 10 most popular names went to 8.0% of baby boys and 7.0% of baby girls, and the records list 17,292 different names for girls against 13,925 for boys. Both lists have spread out over time: in 1950, the top 10 went to 33.8% of boys and 24.1% of girls.
See the most common female names for the other list.
Look Up Any Name
- Type a name in the search box on the home page to see how many people alive in the US have it, its rank, its meaning and its rarity tier.
- The chart on the name page shows the babies given the name in every year since 1880.
- For how the top names changed across generations, see the most popular names by decade.