Boys' name · peaked in 1886
Jim name popularity since 1925
134,343 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jim. Half of them were born in 1952 or earlier, so the typical Jim is about 74 years old in 2026. Jim peaked in 1886 as the #49 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 134,343
- Named Jim, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1886
- #49 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #3,159 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 521 girls · 133,822 boys
- Most popular in
- Wyoming
- 3.50× its national share
Peak year is the year Jim 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.
Jim births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1959. Measured as a share of all babies, Jim peaked earlier, in 1886.
- Steepest fall: Between 1947 and 1952, Jim's share of baby boys fell by 69%, from 1 in 394 to 1 in 1,280.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, it became 3.4× more common, from 1 in 1,280 baby boys to 1 in 375.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jim's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jim.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jim 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 | 88 | 6,109 | – |
| 1930s | 134 | 20,823 | #90 |
| 1940s | 122 | 35,632 | #68 |
| 1950s | 71 | 26,215 | #167 |
| 1960s | 88 | 33,201 | #116 |
| 1970s | 13 | 6,021 | #372 |
| 1980s | 5 | 2,547 | #608 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,607 | #861 |
| 2000s | 0 | 962 | #1,540 |
| 2010s | 0 | 506 | #2,831 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 199 | #3,159 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
48.7% of babies named Jim from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Jim is most popular
The index compares Jim'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 Jim.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 3.50× | 626 |
| Montana | 3.26× | 1,264 |
| Nebraska | 2.79× | 2,591 |
| Iowa | 2.67× | 4,492 |
| Oregon | 2.49× | 3,090 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jim's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jim.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jim (1886).
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