Boys' name · peaked in 1998
Jacob name popularity since 1925
968,394 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jacob. Half of them were born in 1999 or earlier, so the typical Jacob is about 27 years old in 2026. Jacob peaked in 1998 as the #2 name for boys, and it ranked #43 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 968,394
- Named Jacob, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #43
- for boys in 2025 (6,152 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% boys
- 2,275 girls · 966,119 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 1.87× its national share
Peak year is the year Jacob 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.
Jacob births per year, 1925–2025
1998 was the biggest year for Jacob both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1969 and 1974, Jacob became 5.1× more common, from 1 in 2,730 baby boys to 1 in 532.
- Steepest fall: Between 2017 and 2022, its share of baby boys fell by 39%, from 1 in 139 to 1 in 228.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jacob's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jacob.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jacob 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 | 5 | 3,931 | – |
| 1930s | 17 | 5,264 | #245 |
| 1940s | 0 | 4,853 | #293 |
| 1950s | 5 | 5,400 | #303 |
| 1960s | 5 | 5,075 | #347 |
| 1970s | 206 | 36,351 | #75 |
| 1980s | 694 | 124,254 | #35 |
| 1990s | 592 | 298,415 | #4 |
| 2000s | 523 | 274,077 | #1 |
| 2010s | 186 | 163,321 | #4 |
| 2020–25 | 42 | 45,178 | #43 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.7% of babies named Jacob from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Jacob is most popular
The index compares Jacob'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 Jacob.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1.87× | 6,513 |
| Alaska | 1.82× | 2,635 |
| Utah | 1.58× | 13,132 |
| Idaho | 1.54× | 5,976 |
| Arizona | 1.51× | 19,134 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jacob and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Jacob (this page) | 966,119 | 1998 |
| Jakob | 31,959 | 2001 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jacob's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jacob.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jacob (1998).
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