Boys' name · peaked in 1912
Howard name popularity since 1925
245,918 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Howard. Half of them were born in 1947 or earlier, so the typical Howard is about 79 years old in 2026. Howard peaked in 1912 as the #25 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 245,918
- Named Howard, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1912
- #25 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,004 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 1,162 girls · 244,756 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 2.22× its national share
Peak year is the year Howard 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.
Howard births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Howard peaked earlier, in 1912.
- Steepest fall: Between 1971 and 1976, Howard's share of baby boys fell by 37%, from 1 in 963 to 1 in 1,520.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Howard's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Howard.
Decade by decade
Babies named Howard 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 | 242 | 33,346 | – |
| 1930s | 293 | 51,495 | #39 |
| 1940s | 152 | 53,530 | #54 |
| 1950s | 157 | 47,852 | #83 |
| 1960s | 140 | 28,703 | #122 |
| 1970s | 122 | 12,980 | #195 |
| 1980s | 56 | 7,052 | #302 |
| 1990s | 0 | 3,915 | #532 |
| 2000s | 0 | 2,477 | #823 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2,111 | #1,038 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,295 | #1,004 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.8% of babies named Howard from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Howard is most popular
The index compares Howard'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 Howard.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 2.22× | 4,781 |
| Vermont | 1.80× | 735 |
| Delaware | 1.67× | 848 |
| Mississippi | 1.66× | 4,912 |
| Maryland | 1.62× | 6,055 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Howard's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Howard.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Howard (1912).
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