Boys' name · peaked in 1887
Luther name popularity since 1925
42,331 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Luther (0.7% girls, 99.3% boys). Half of them were born in 1947 or earlier, so the typical Luther is about 79 years old in 2026. Luther peaked in 1887 as the #63 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 42,331
- Named Luther, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1887
- #63 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,464 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.3% boys
- 298 girls · 42,033 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 4.89× its national share
Peak year is the year Luther 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.
Luther births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Luther peaked earlier, in 1887.
- Steepest fall: Between 1990 and 1995, Luther's share of baby boys fell by 36%, from 1 in 11,700 to 1 in 18,100.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Luther's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Luther.
Decade by decade
Babies named Luther 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 | 101 | 6,159 | – |
| 1930s | 88 | 8,860 | #169 |
| 1940s | 52 | 8,141 | #203 |
| 1950s | 41 | 6,479 | #270 |
| 1960s | 16 | 4,069 | #395 |
| 1970s | 0 | 2,615 | #525 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,934 | #679 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,233 | #1,115 |
| 2000s | 0 | 870 | #1,475 |
| 2010s | 0 | 958 | #1,622 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 715 | #1,464 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.3% of babies named Luther from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Luther is most popular
The index compares Luther'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 Luther.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 4.89× | 2,266 |
| South Carolina | 4.57× | 2,449 |
| Arkansas | 3.31× | 1,300 |
| North Carolina | 3.26× | 3,539 |
| Alabama | 3.24× | 2,191 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Luther's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Luther.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Luther (1887).
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