Boys' name · peaked in 1883
Tom name popularity since 1925
116,517 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Tom. Half of them were born in 1953 or earlier, so the typical Tom is about 73 years old in 2026. Tom peaked in 1883 as the #44 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 116,517
- Named Tom, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1883
- #44 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,206 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 409 girls · 116,108 boys
- Most popular in
- Montana
- 2.87× its national share
Peak year is the year Tom 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.
Tom births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1959. Measured as a share of all babies, Tom peaked earlier, in 1883.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, Tom became 3.5× more common, from 1 in 1,470 baby boys to 1 in 421.
- Steepest fall: Between 1970 and 1975, its share of baby boys fell by 68%, from 1 in 1,640 to 1 in 5,150.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Tom's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Tom.
Decade by decade
Babies named Tom 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 | 76 | 6,312 | – |
| 1930s | 99 | 16,427 | #110 |
| 1940s | 99 | 29,884 | #89 |
| 1950s | 54 | 23,754 | #180 |
| 1960s | 63 | 29,201 | #127 |
| 1970s | 18 | 4,864 | #463 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,984 | #654 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,454 | #964 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,097 | #1,260 |
| 2010s | 0 | 786 | #2,051 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 345 | #2,206 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
49.9% of babies named Tom from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Tom is most popular
The index compares Tom'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 Tom.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | 2.87× | 958 |
| Wyoming | 2.69× | 416 |
| Iowa | 2.58× | 3,743 |
| Nebraska | 2.27× | 1,818 |
| South Dakota | 1.98× | 721 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Tom's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Tom.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Tom (1883).
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