Boys' name · peaked in 1942
Jerald name popularity since 1925
25,520 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jerald. Half of them were born in 1955 or earlier, so the typical Jerald is about 71 years old in 2026. Jerald peaked in 1942 as the #223 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 25,520
- Named Jerald, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #4,081 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 102 girls · 25,418 boys
- Most popular in
- South Dakota
- 7.48× its national share
Peak year is the year Jerald 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.
Jerald births per year, 1925–2025
1942 was the biggest year for Jerald both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1927 and 1932, Jerald became 2.2× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1970 and 1975, its share of baby boys fell by 42%, from 1 in 4,320 to 1 in 7,510.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jerald's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jerald.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jerald 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 | 679 | – |
| 1930s | 17 | 3,218 | #315 |
| 1940s | 25 | 5,710 | #251 |
| 1950s | 29 | 5,072 | #319 |
| 1960s | 21 | 4,132 | #391 |
| 1970s | 5 | 2,596 | #562 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,635 | #734 |
| 1990s | 5 | 1,158 | #1,176 |
| 2000s | 0 | 668 | #2,048 |
| 2010s | 0 | 385 | #3,325 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 165 | #4,081 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
37.6% of babies named Jerald from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Jerald is most popular
The index compares Jerald'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 Jerald.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 7.48× | 512 |
| Iowa | 3.42× | 933 |
| Nebraska | 3.26× | 491 |
| Kansas | 2.56× | 560 |
| Minnesota | 2.02× | 791 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jerald 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jerald (this page) | 25,418 | 1942 |
| Jerold | 7,195 | 1942 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jerald's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jerald.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jerald (1942).
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