Boys' name · peaked in 2021

Messiah name popularity since 1925

28,100 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Messiah (3.7% girls, 96.3% boys). Half of them were born in 2018 or earlier, so the typical Messiah is about 8 years old in 2026. Messiah peaked in 2021 as the #172 name for boys, and it ranked #207 in 2025.

Key facts

US babies since 1925
28,100
Named Messiah, 1925–2025
Peak year
2021
#172 for boys that year
Typical age
About 8
Median birth year 2018
In 2025
#207
for boys in 2025 (1,666 babies)
Girls / boys
96.3% boys
1,036 girls · 27,064 boys
Most popular in
Nevada
3.21× its national share

Peak year is the year Messiah 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.

Messiah births per year, 1925–2025

Babies named Messiah per year, 1925–2025

2021 was the biggest year for Messiah both by count and as a share of all babies.

  • Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, Messiah became 4.9× more common, from 1 in 5,150 baby boys to 1 in 1,060.

Shaded on the chart. This compares Messiah's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Messiah.

Decade by decade

Babies named Messiah in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).

Decade GirlsBoys Rank
1925–29 00 –
1930s 00 Under 5
1940s 00 Under 5
1950s 00 Under 5
1960s 00 Under 5
1970s 041 #5,229
1980s 052 #4,561
1990s 52297 #2,537
2000s 4492,049 #905
2010s 41813,008 #243
2020–25 11711,617 #207

Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.

Generation fingerprint

83.6% of babies named Messiah from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:

Messiah by generation Gen X born 1965–80 0.2% Millennials born 1981–96 0.6% Gen Z born 1997–2012 15.6% Gen Alpha born 2013–25 83.6%

Where Messiah is most popular

The index compares Messiah'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 Messiah.

StateIndexBabies
Nevada3.21×305
Georgia3.03×2,228
South Carolina2.35×877
Florida2.31×2,218
North Carolina1.93×1,460

Names with a similar story

Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Messiah's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Messiah.

Names from the same era

Other common names that peaked within two years of Messiah (2021).

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