Boys' name · peaked in 1997
Duncan name popularity since 1925
19,924 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Duncan. Half of them were born in 1996 or earlier, so the typical Duncan is about 30 years old in 2026. Duncan peaked in 1997 as the #378 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 19,924
- Named Duncan, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,124 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% boys
- 11 girls · 19,913 boys
- Most popular in
- Washington
- 2.52× its national share
Peak year is the year Duncan 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.
Duncan births per year, 1925–2025
1997 was the biggest year for Duncan both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1992 and 1997, Duncan became 2.6× more common, from 1 in 7,680 baby boys to 1 in 2,930.
- Steepest fall: Between 2002 and 2007, its share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 4,110 to 1 in 7,210.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Duncan's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Duncan.
Decade by decade
Babies named Duncan 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 | 0 | 375 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 653 | #753 |
| 1940s | 0 | 1,178 | #563 |
| 1950s | 0 | 1,783 | #616 |
| 1960s | 0 | 1,389 | #661 |
| 1970s | 0 | 933 | #896 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,414 | #690 |
| 1990s | 6 | 4,221 | #473 |
| 2000s | 0 | 3,965 | #619 |
| 2010s | 5 | 2,687 | #790 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,315 | #1,124 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.6% of babies named Duncan from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Duncan is most popular
The index compares Duncan'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 Duncan.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 2.52× | 634 |
| Utah | 2.50× | 321 |
| Massachusetts | 2.17× | 779 |
| Colorado | 1.78× | 331 |
| North Carolina | 1.60× | 682 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Duncan's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Duncan.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Duncan (1997).
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