Boys' name · peaked in 1958
Dan name popularity since 1925
94,314 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Dan. Half of them were born in 1956 or earlier, so the typical Dan is about 70 years old in 2026. Dan peaked in 1958 as the #109 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 94,314
- Named Dan, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,962 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 489 girls · 93,825 boys
- Most popular in
- Montana
- 3.34× its national share
Peak year is the year Dan 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.
Dan births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1960. Measured as a share of all babies, Dan peaked in 1958.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, Dan became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 946 baby boys to 1 in 581.
- Steepest fall: Between 1969 and 1974, its share of baby boys fell by 53%, from 1 in 1,540 to 1 in 3,280.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Dan's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Dan.
Decade by decade
Babies named Dan 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 | 65 | 4,283 | – |
| 1930s | 76 | 9,629 | #151 |
| 1940s | 56 | 18,017 | #127 |
| 1950s | 72 | 26,009 | #136 |
| 1960s | 45 | 22,709 | #155 |
| 1970s | 54 | 5,550 | #369 |
| 1980s | 63 | 2,808 | #537 |
| 1990s | 8 | 1,860 | #820 |
| 2000s | 19 | 1,440 | #1,055 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,008 | #1,706 |
| 2020–25 | 31 | 512 | #1,962 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
54.3% of babies named Dan from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Dan is most popular
The index compares Dan'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 Dan.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | 3.34× | 891 |
| Wyoming | 2.59× | 320 |
| Idaho | 2.41× | 877 |
| Oregon | 2.29× | 1,960 |
| Washington | 2.26× | 3,455 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Dan's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Dan.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Dan (1958).
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