Mostly boys · peaked in 2021
Royal name popularity since 1925
21,112 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Royal (20.5% girls, 79.5% boys). Half of them were born in 2015 or earlier, so the typical Royal is about 11 years old in 2026. Royal peaked in 2021 as the #369 name for boys, and it ranked #476 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 21,112
- Named Royal, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #476
- for boys in 2025 (640 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 79.5% boys
- 4,322 girls · 16,790 boys
- Most popular in
- Louisiana
- 2.65× its national share
Peak year is the year Royal 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.
Royal births per year, 1925–2025
2021 was the biggest year for Royal both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1945 and 1950, Royal's share of baby boys fell by 42%, from 1 in 9,350 to 1 in 16,000.
- Fastest rise: Between 2011 and 2016, it became 4.5× more common, from 1 in 12,800 baby boys to 1 in 2,870.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Royal's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Royal.
Decade by decade
Babies named Royal 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 | 13 | 971 | – |
| 1930s | 22 | 1,355 | #521 |
| 1940s | 24 | 1,289 | #499 |
| 1950s | 18 | 1,068 | #719 |
| 1960s | 5 | 735 | #835 |
| 1970s | 33 | 561 | #1,274 |
| 1980s | 57 | 496 | #1,349 |
| 1990s | 86 | 502 | #2,018 |
| 2000s | 117 | 764 | #1,883 |
| 2010s | 2,366 | 4,361 | #467 |
| 2020–25 | 1,581 | 4,688 | #476 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
58.8% of babies named Royal from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Royal is most popular
The index compares Royal'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 Royal.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 2.65× | 730 |
| Georgia | 2.52× | 1,069 |
| Virginia | 1.50× | 519 |
| North Carolina | 1.49× | 649 |
| Maryland | 1.48× | 348 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Royal's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Royal.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Royal (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