Boys' name · peaked in 1885
Fred name popularity since 1925
225,653 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Fred. Half of them were born in 1944 or earlier, so the typical Fred is about 82 years old in 2026. Fred peaked in 1885 as the #14 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 225,653
- Named Fred, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1885
- #14 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,936 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 1,176 girls · 224,477 boys
- Most popular in
- Wyoming
- 1.73× its national share
Peak year is the year Fred 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.
Fred births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1926. Measured as a share of all babies, Fred peaked earlier, in 1885.
- Steepest fall: Between 1946 and 1951, Fred's share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 270 to 1 in 471.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Fred's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Fred.
Decade by decade
Babies named Fred 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 | 260 | 30,857 | – |
| 1930s | 332 | 56,164 | #34 |
| 1940s | 207 | 56,665 | #51 |
| 1950s | 139 | 37,445 | #97 |
| 1960s | 123 | 23,189 | #141 |
| 1970s | 74 | 9,425 | #248 |
| 1980s | 41 | 4,810 | #385 |
| 1990s | 0 | 2,779 | #674 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,559 | #1,115 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,043 | #1,591 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 541 | #1,936 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.6% of babies named Fred from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Fred is most popular
The index compares Fred'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 Fred.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 1.73× | 524 |
| Mississippi | 1.71× | 4,649 |
| West Virginia | 1.58× | 3,109 |
| Alabama | 1.55× | 6,150 |
| South Carolina | 1.52× | 4,762 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Fred's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Fred.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Fred (1885).
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