Boys' name · peaked in 2017
Major name popularity since 1925
18,696 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Major. Half of them were born in 2014 or earlier, so the typical Major is about 12 years old in 2026. Major peaked in 2017 as the #331 name for boys, and it ranked #670 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 18,696
- Named Major, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #670
- for boys in 2025 (407 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 71 girls · 18,625 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 3.84× its national share
Peak year is the year Major 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.
Major births per year, 1925–2025
2017 was the biggest year for Major both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 2009 and 2014, Major became 5.3× more common, from 1 in 10,900 baby boys to 1 in 2,060.
- Steepest fall: Between 2020 and 2025, its share of baby boys fell by 55%, from 1 in 1,890 to 1 in 4,200.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Major's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Major.
Decade by decade
Babies named Major 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 | 680 | – |
| 1930s | 11 | 1,051 | #625 |
| 1940s | 0 | 1,176 | #545 |
| 1950s | 0 | 1,114 | #722 |
| 1960s | 0 | 692 | #830 |
| 1970s | 0 | 572 | #1,201 |
| 1980s | 0 | 552 | #1,633 |
| 1990s | 0 | 450 | #1,975 |
| 2000s | 0 | 868 | #1,783 |
| 2010s | 37 | 7,616 | #361 |
| 2020–25 | 23 | 3,854 | #670 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
56.4% of babies named Major from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Major is most popular
The index compares Major'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 Major.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 3.84× | 702 |
| Alabama | 3.25× | 868 |
| Georgia | 3.08× | 1,284 |
| South Carolina | 2.87× | 606 |
| North Carolina | 2.51× | 1,073 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Major's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Major.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Major (2017).
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