James Name Popularity

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How popular is James?

In 2018 the uber popular name James, ranked the 4th Most Popular Boys Name in the United States.

Presently one of the top 10 most popular, James has been a top 50 placer since the Social Security Administration began keeping records in 1880.

Its highest popularity ranking of #1 was reached for the first time in 1940 and as recently as 1952.

The name was given to the greatest number of children in 1947 with 94,757 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named James was 4,516 in 1891.

Approximately during the years 1897-1900, 1903-1924, and 1935-1947, the name James took a definitive turn upwards in popularity whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1955-1958, 1959-1967, 1968-1976, 1980-1987, 1988-2001, and 2005-2011.

For a number of years, the name James has been moving downward in popularity. Of late however, the number of parents selecting the name James for their newborn has remained about the same.

What does the future hold for the popularity of James?

Currently, the name is at a very low point when compared to its most popular year.

The name James is a huge favorite and has recently started to plateu at its present level but may also begin to make a more decisive move up or down.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

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for Percentages.

		James (Girl)		James (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		44	3,512	13,525	4
2017		77	2,363	14,291	4
2016		66	2,647	14,862	5
2015		39	3,871	14,824	7
2014		42	3,676	14,431	9
2013		28	4,941	13,567	13
2012		28	5,016	13,426	14
2011		30	4,728	13,251	17
2010		29	4,902	13,883	19
2009		51	3,262	14,208	18
2008		32	4,691	15,178	17
2007		33	4,511	15,962	15
2006		46	3,476	16,239	16
2005		26	5,010	16,135	17
2004		95	1,964	16,463	17
2003		34	3,977	16,892	18
2002		31	4,114	16,959	18
2001		42	3,272	17,070	19
2000		40	3,358	17,987	18
1999		40	3,207	18,552	19
1998		45	2,902	19,687	18
1997		42	2,897	20,404	17
1996		62	2,188	21,156	17
1995		57	2,317	22,730	17
1994		67	2,069	24,770	14
1993		75	1,887	26,249	14
1992		70	1,970	28,503	9
1991		95	1,601	30,507	7
1990		115	1,375	32,349	8
1989		176	982	32,703	9
1988		244	767	32,510	9
1987		246	734	32,643	8
1986		273	673	34,040	7
1985		287	645	35,861	7
1984		238	698	35,857	7
1983		282	618	36,354	6
1982		317	578	38,875	6
1981		272	651	38,313	7
1980		271	663	39,325	5
1979		261	667	39,371	5
1978		269	626	39,915	5
1977		273	617	40,054	5
1976		252	619	38,309	5
1975		254	621	39,591	4
1974		251	622	41,354	5
1973		317	530	42,889	4
1972		299	556	47,083	3
1971		302	579	54,621	2
1970		353	537	61,759	2
1969		330	542	59,915	3
1968		312	547	60,693	4
1967		311	534	61,698	3
1966		298	548	65,174	3
1965		303	544	67,701	4
1964		317	556	73,037	4
1963		311	548	71,322	4
1962		262	621	72,555	4
1961		286	595	75,924	4
1960		289	581	76,832	3
1959		295	571	78,606	3
1958		252	621	78,713	3
1957		280	577	84,275	2
1956		250	603	84,863	2
1955		248	582	84,155	3
1954		225	605	86,272	3
1953		235	576	86,099	2
1952		259	527	87,063	1
1951		256	517	87,261	1
1950		252	515	86,224	1
1949		257	506	86,857	1
1948		251	522	88,584	1
1947		257	516	94,757	1
1946		250	493	87,436	1
1945		247	454	74,449	1
1944		237	468	76,951	1
1943		271	453	80,261	1
1942		282	431	77,176	1
1941		255	430	66,736	1
1940		259	424	62,473	1
1939		268	411	59,627	2
1938		275	402	59,099	2
1937		251	408	56,551	2
1936		229	428	54,686	2
1935		238	422	55,000	2
1934		262	403	54,249	2
1933		299	368	51,102	2
1932		320	356	51,922	2
1931		345	344	51,219	2
1930		419	323	53,941	2
1929		397	325	52,127	2
1928		427	319	52,754	3
1927		389	338	53,674	3
1926		359	352	53,209	3
1925		365	357	52,682	4
1924		274	425	52,939	4
1923		280	401	50,463	4
1922		239	431	49,801	4
1921		231	455	49,748	4
1920		249	424	47,912	4
1919		192	482	42,390	3
1918		212	459	42,118	3
1917		182	486	37,339	3
1916		166	508	35,569	3
1915		155	495	33,775	3
1914		107	545	26,263	3
1913		95	524	20,832	3
1912		81	545	17,644	3
1911		69	498	9,951	3
1910		63	518	9,195	2
1909		52	525	7,594	3
1908		32	684	7,012	3
1907		45	540	6,707	3
1906		37	582	5,908	3
1905		35	590	6,042	3
1904		27	675	5,855	3
1903		28	636	5,480	3
1902		30	607	5,592	3
1901		30	567	4,735	3
1900		41	526	7,245	3
1899		27	600	4,597	3
1898		29	601	5,321	3
1897		30	543	5,113	3
1896		28	587	5,207	3
1895		34	506	5,335	3
1894		25	588	5,110	3
1893		23	607	5,030	3
1892		22	605	5,398	3
1891		31	464	4,516	3
1890		33	452	5,097	3
1889		26	492	5,020	3
1888		45	359	5,562	3
1887		19	518	4,768	3
1886		29	403	5,355	3
1885		26	408	5,175	3
1884		33	343	5,693	3
1883		25	367	5,223	3
1882		18	438	5,892	3
1881		24	330	5,441	3
1880		22	344	5,927	3

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.