Boys' name · peaked in 1918
Ralph name popularity since 1925
298,988 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Ralph. Half of them were born in 1946 or earlier, so the typical Ralph is about 80 years old in 2026. Ralph peaked in 1918 as the #22 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 298,988
- Named Ralph, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1918
- #22 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,048 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 1,305 girls · 297,683 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 2.16× its national share
Peak year is the year Ralph 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.
Ralph births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Ralph peaked earlier, in 1918.
- Steepest fall: Between 1987 and 1992, Ralph's share of baby boys fell by 36%, from 1 in 2,580 to 1 in 4,000.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Ralph's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Ralph.
Decade by decade
Babies named Ralph 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 | 260 | 41,171 | – |
| 1930s | 311 | 63,802 | #32 |
| 1940s | 180 | 64,983 | #44 |
| 1950s | 185 | 60,440 | #67 |
| 1960s | 184 | 34,190 | #103 |
| 1970s | 128 | 14,755 | #173 |
| 1980s | 52 | 7,998 | #277 |
| 1990s | 5 | 4,474 | #502 |
| 2000s | 0 | 2,779 | #771 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,978 | #1,067 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,113 | #1,048 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
39.3% of babies named Ralph from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Ralph is most popular
The index compares Ralph'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 Ralph.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 2.16× | 5,665 |
| Maine | 1.78× | 2,274 |
| Vermont | 1.51× | 753 |
| Kentucky | 1.42× | 7,086 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.40× | 21,188 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Ralph's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Ralph.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Ralph (1918).
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