Boys' name · peaked in 1963
Kelvin name popularity since 1925
51,829 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kelvin (0.6% girls, 99.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1980 or earlier, so the typical Kelvin is about 46 years old in 2026. Kelvin peaked in 1963 as the #210 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 51,829
- Named Kelvin, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,036 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.4% boys
- 304 girls · 51,525 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 3.52× its national share
Peak year is the year Kelvin 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.
Kelvin births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1961. Measured as a share of all babies, Kelvin peaked in 1963.
- Fastest rise: Between 1951 and 1956, Kelvin became 3.7× more common, from 1 in 10,400 baby boys to 1 in 2,790.
- Steepest fall: Between 2019 and 2024, its share of baby boys fell by 34%, from 1 in 5,660 to 1 in 8,570.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kelvin's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kelvin.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kelvin 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 | 46 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 182 | #1,134 |
| 1940s | 0 | 228 | #1,514 |
| 1950s | 21 | 5,182 | #321 |
| 1960s | 92 | 11,860 | #207 |
| 1970s | 77 | 7,931 | #266 |
| 1980s | 74 | 7,167 | #279 |
| 1990s | 35 | 7,398 | #345 |
| 2000s | 5 | 6,259 | #433 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,875 | #652 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,397 | #1,036 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
26.9% of babies named Kelvin from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Kelvin is most popular
The index compares Kelvin'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 Kelvin.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 3.52× | 2,089 |
| District of Columbia | 3.33× | 752 |
| Alabama | 3.05× | 2,640 |
| Georgia | 2.70× | 3,659 |
| South Carolina | 2.61× | 1,790 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kelvin's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kelvin.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kelvin (1963).
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