Boys' name · peaked in 1935
Buddy name popularity since 1925
21,179 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Buddy. Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Buddy is about 76 years old in 2026. Buddy peaked in 1935 as the #202 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 21,179
- Named Buddy, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #4,418 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% boys
- 45 girls · 21,134 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 5.58× its national share
Peak year is the year Buddy made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Buddy births per year, 1925–2025
1935 was the biggest year for Buddy both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1925 and 1930, Buddy became 2.6× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1942 and 1947, its share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 2,760 to 1 in 4,840.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Buddy's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Buddy.
Decade by decade
Babies named Buddy in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 12 | 1,264 | – |
| 1930s | 12 | 5,104 | #202 |
| 1940s | 15 | 4,000 | #332 |
| 1950s | 0 | 3,449 | #380 |
| 1960s | 0 | 2,744 | #483 |
| 1970s | 0 | 1,889 | #607 |
| 1980s | 6 | 1,291 | #832 |
| 1990s | 0 | 583 | #2,032 |
| 2000s | 0 | 357 | #2,665 |
| 2010s | 0 | 271 | #3,896 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 182 | #4,418 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
39.2% of babies named Buddy from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Buddy is most popular
The index compares Buddy's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Buddy.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 5.58× | 1,269 |
| Arkansas | 4.61× | 828 |
| West Virginia | 3.21× | 493 |
| Tennessee | 3.05× | 1,121 |
| Kentucky | 2.51× | 735 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Buddy's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Buddy.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Buddy (1935).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data