Boys' name · peaked in 1937
Gene name popularity since 1925
121,309 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Gene (3.6% girls, 96.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1945 or earlier, so the typical Gene is about 81 years old in 2026. Gene peaked in 1937 as the #61 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 121,309
- Named Gene, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,238 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 96.4% boys
- 4,421 girls · 116,888 boys
- Most popular in
- South Dakota
- 2.96× its national share
Peak year is the year Gene 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.
Gene births per year, 1925–2025
1937 was the biggest year for Gene both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1925 and 1930, Gene became 1.8× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1991 and 1996, its share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 6,620 to 1 in 11,100.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Gene's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Gene.
Decade by decade
Babies named Gene 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 | 1,282 | 12,362 | – |
| 1930s | 938 | 29,313 | #66 |
| 1940s | 1,011 | 27,739 | #100 |
| 1950s | 566 | 19,694 | #152 |
| 1960s | 235 | 13,701 | #193 |
| 1970s | 171 | 6,233 | #322 |
| 1980s | 105 | 3,621 | #464 |
| 1990s | 61 | 2,058 | #811 |
| 2000s | 21 | 999 | #1,529 |
| 2010s | 26 | 695 | #2,093 |
| 2020–25 | 5 | 473 | #2,238 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
44.7% of babies named Gene from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Gene is most popular
The index compares Gene'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 Gene.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.96× | 1,104 |
| North Dakota | 2.49× | 917 |
| Nebraska | 2.39× | 1,957 |
| Iowa | 2.07× | 3,085 |
| Oklahoma | 2.07× | 3,161 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Gene's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Gene.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Gene (1937).
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