Mostly boys · peaked in 1900
Lee name popularity since 1925
246,045 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Lee (21.6% girls, 78.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1958 or earlier, so the typical Lee is about 68 years old in 2026. Lee peaked in 1900 as the #39 name for boys, and it ranked #727 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 246,045
- Named Lee, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1900
- #39 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #727
- for boys in 2025 (366 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 78.4% boys
- 53,110 girls · 192,935 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 3.07× its national share
Peak year is the year Lee 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.
Lee births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1951. Measured as a share of all babies, Lee peaked earlier, in 1900.
- Steepest fall: Between 1988 and 1993, Lee's share of baby boys fell by 46%, from 1 in 1,070 to 1 in 1,980.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Lee's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Lee.
Decade by decade
Babies named Lee 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 | 2,550 | 11,731 | – |
| 1930s | 4,471 | 23,954 | #80 |
| 1940s | 6,803 | 30,978 | #87 |
| 1950s | 13,861 | 35,826 | #96 |
| 1960s | 13,100 | 30,200 | #117 |
| 1970s | 6,590 | 21,546 | #137 |
| 1980s | 3,742 | 19,788 | #142 |
| 1990s | 1,235 | 9,011 | #330 |
| 2000s | 370 | 4,161 | #590 |
| 2010s | 249 | 3,557 | #678 |
| 2020–25 | 139 | 2,183 | #727 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
36.6% of babies named Lee from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Lee is most popular
The index compares Lee'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 Lee.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 3.07× | 9,067 |
| Arkansas | 2.16× | 5,413 |
| Louisiana | 1.65× | 7,197 |
| Alabama | 1.62× | 6,977 |
| North Dakota | 1.55× | 1,191 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Lee's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Lee.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Lee (1900).
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