Mostly boys · peaked in 1960
Kerry name popularity since 1925
98,608 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kerry (49.4% girls, 50.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1968 or earlier, so the typical Kerry is about 58 years old in 2026. Kerry peaked in 1960 as the #158 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 98,608
- Named Kerry, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,464 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 50.6% boys
- 48,670 girls · 49,938 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 2.05× its national share
Peak year is the year Kerry 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.
Kerry births per year, 1925–2025
1960 was the biggest year for Kerry both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1942 and 1947, Kerry became 3.9× more common, from 1 in 10,200 baby boys to 1 in 2,600.
- Steepest fall: Between 1991 and 1996, its share of baby boys fell by 53%, from 1 in 4,880 to 1 in 10,500.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kerry's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kerry.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kerry 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 | 11 | 62 | – |
| 1930s | 59 | 537 | #550 |
| 1940s | 1,463 | 4,054 | #341 |
| 1950s | 6,442 | 14,416 | #174 |
| 1960s | 12,223 | 15,286 | #177 |
| 1970s | 16,123 | 6,662 | #294 |
| 1980s | 7,593 | 4,406 | #351 |
| 1990s | 3,439 | 2,510 | #748 |
| 2000s | 925 | 1,152 | #1,287 |
| 2010s | 293 | 578 | #2,201 |
| 2020–25 | 99 | 275 | #2,464 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
40.1% of babies named Kerry from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Kerry is most popular
The index compares Kerry'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 Kerry.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2.05× | 4,549 |
| Louisiana | 1.93× | 3,234 |
| New Hampshire | 1.42× | 417 |
| Montana | 1.39× | 379 |
| Rhode Island | 1.36× | 450 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kerry's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kerry.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kerry (1960).
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