How popular is the baby name Jacob in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Jacob.

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Popularity of the baby name Jacob


Posts that mention the name Jacob

Baby names that rose the fastest in the U.S. data, 1881 to today (absolute increase)

hot air balloons

Having déjà vu?

A couple of months ago, we looked at a long, year-by-year list of the top baby name rises. A month after that, we saw the corresponding list of top drops.

On that second post, Frank B. left a comment in which he asked about absolute rises and drops — because the lists only covered relative movement within the data. So I thought two more posts were in order: top raw-number rises, and top raw-number drops.

We’ll start with the rises again. Just keep in mind that the SSA numbers don’t become very accurate until the mid-to-late 20th century, so many of the numbers below don’t quite reflect reality.

Here’s the format: Girl names are on the left, boy names are on the right, and the numbers represent single-year rises in usage. From 1880 to 1881, for instance, the usage of the girl name Ethel increased by 155 babies and the usage of the boy name Chester increased by 106 babies.

1880s

  • 1881: Ethel, +155; Chester, +106
  • 1882: Mary, +1,229; John, +788
  • 1883: Bertha, +173; Grover, +71
  • 1884: Mary, +1,205; Grover, +675
  • 1885: Helen, +148; Willie, +36
  • 1886: Mary, +762; John, +270
  • 1887: Ethel, +208; Harold, +55
  • 1888: Mary, +1,866; William, +1,235
  • 1889: Ruth, +223; Russell, +52

1890s

  • 1890: Mary, +430; Charlie, +112
  • 1891: Ruth, +662; Theodore & Herbert, +34 (tie)
  • 1892: Mary, +1,471; John, +1,358
  • 1893: Esther, +558; Claude, +41
  • 1894: Marie, +437; John, +189
  • 1895: Anna, +385; James, +225
  • 1896: Helen, +369; William, +470
  • 1897: Thelma, +159; Dewey, +95
  • 1898: Mary, +994; Dewey, +957
  • 1899: Mildred, +188; Kenneth, +24

1900s

  • 1900: Mary, +3536; John, +2,840
  • 1901: Retha, +25; Theodore, +21
  • 1902: Mary, +1,350; John, +1,009
  • 1903: Dorothy, +371; Jack, +88
  • 1904: Mary, +687; John, +499
  • 1905: Mary, +1,105; Charles, +201
  • 1906: Alice, +581; Robert, +225
  • 1907: Mary, +1,211; James, +799
  • 1908: Mary, +1,085; William, +622
  • 1909: Helen, +813; James, +582

1910s

  • 1910: Mary, +3,589; John, +1,860
  • 1911: Dorothy, +1,551; John, +1,995
  • 1912: Mary, +7,910; John, +11,140
  • 1913: Mary, +4,342; John, +4,738
  • 1914: Mary, +8,705; John, +8,621
  • 1915: Mary, +12,842; John, +9,634
  • 1916: Mary, +3,246; Robert, +3,004
  • 1917: Mary, +2,847; Robert, +3,474
  • 1918: Dorothy, +3,179; Robert, +5,409
  • 1919: Betty, +1,304; Willie, +409

1920s

  • 1920: Mary, +5,141; Robert, +7,656
  • 1921: Betty, +3,618; Robert, +4,096
  • 1922: Betty, +3,259; Richard, +1,165
  • 1923: Betty, +5,097; Robert, +2,300
  • 1924: Betty, +4,605; Robert, +4,685
  • 1925: Gloria, +2,835; Richard, +2,034
  • 1926: Barbara, +1,917; Richard, +1,864
  • 1927: Mary, +2,787; Donald, +2,935
  • 1928: Dolores, +2,843; Herbert, +3,049
  • 1929: Joan, +3,806; Donald, +1,456

1930s

  • 1930: Joan, +3,812; Richard, +2,602
  • 1931: Joan, +3,633; Ronald, +1,086
  • 1932: Barbara, +4,514; Ronald, +4,411
  • 1933: Carol, +1,650; Franklin, +2,603
  • 1934: Shirley, +8,523; James, +3,124
  • 1935: Shirley, +19,514; David, +1,664
  • 1936: Carol, +2,785; Robert, +1,968
  • 1937: Barbara, +3,230; David, +3,493
  • 1938: Judith, +4,729; James, +2,526
  • 1939: Judith, +5,748; David, +2,366

(From the SSA: “Note that many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data.”)

1940s

  • 1940: Linda, +7,657; John, +3,739
  • 1941: Linda, +5,355; James, +4,262
  • 1942: Linda, +7,882; James, +10,450
  • 1943: Linda, +6,831; James, +3,072
  • 1944: Cheryl, +5,092; Gary, +2,192
  • 1945: Linda, +3,065; Michael, +3,179
  • 1946: Linda, +11,239; Robert, +14,194
  • 1947: Linda, +46,978; David, +11,381
  • 1948: Deborah, +5,409; Mark, +2,503
  • 1949: Deborah, +7,953; Michael, +7,417

1950s

  • 1950: Deborah, +9,877; Michael, +5,220
  • 1951: Deborah, +12,954; Michael, +7,531
  • 1952: Debra, +9,782; David, +7,043
  • 1953: Debra, +10,015; Michael, +5,172
  • 1954: Debra, +9,029; Mark, +6,899
  • 1955: Debra, +4,653; David, +6,653
  • 1956: Karen, +6,843; Mark, +6,596
  • 1957: Cindy, +10,268; Mark, +4,020
  • 1958: Tammy, +5,618; Timothy, +4,011
  • 1959: Donna, +9,517; Mark, +4,260

1960s

  • 1960: Lisa, +8,013; Jeffrey, +2,564
  • 1961: Lisa, +8,983; Todd, +4,005
  • 1962: Lisa, +3,394; Scott, +6,790
  • 1963: Lisa, +9,951; Paul, +2,884
  • 1964: Dawn, +4,196; John, +3,900
  • 1965: Lisa, +5,990; Rodney, +5,013
  • 1966: Michelle, +10,937; Christopher, +3,228
  • 1967: Melissa, +4,114; Matthew, +2,778
  • 1968: Jennifer, +8,612; Matthew, +2,253
  • 1969: Jennifer, +6,858; Jason, +9,346

1970s

  • 1970: Jennifer, +12,455; Jason, +10,788
  • 1971: Jennifer, +10,626; Jason, +6,897
  • 1972: Jennifer, +6,820; Christopher, +3,954
  • 1973: Heather, +3,032; Jason, +9,236
  • 1974: Heather, +3,836; Jason, +8,082
  • 1975: Amanda, +5,177; Joshua, +2,968
  • 1976: Jamie, +8,306; Jeremy, +4,940
  • 1977: Jessica, +6,467; Joshua, +5,205
  • 1978: Crystal, +2,865; Nicholas, +10,274
  • 1979: Amanda, +11,406; Joshua, +5,921

1980s

  • 1980: Tiffany, +6,614; Justin, +9,355
  • 1981: Jessica, +8,602; Brandon, +6,048
  • 1982: Ashley, +5,971; Christopher, +8,995
  • 1983: Ashley, +18,435; Kyle, +4,161
  • 1984: Ashley, +5,478; Joshua, +3,551
  • 1985: Ashley, +8,242; Andrew, +4,252
  • 1986: Whitney, +5,699; Andrew, +3,682
  • 1987: Kayla, +5,917; Justin, +4,874
  • 1988: Brittany, +4,594; Justin, +3,545
  • 1989: Brittany, +10,969; Ethan, +3,162

1990s

  • 1990: Taylor, +3,188; Jordan, +5,257
  • 1991: Shelby, +6,703; Dylan, +5,349
  • 1992: Taylor, +4,696; Dylan, +5,298
  • 1993: Taylor, +6,318; Austin, +6,125
  • 1994: Alexis, +2,208; Austin, +5,616
  • 1995: Madison, +3,516; Austin, +2,714
  • 1996: Madison, +3,632; Noah, +3,360
  • 1997: Hannah, +1,993; Jacob, +2,237
  • 1998: Emma, +2,700; Noah, +4,137
  • 1999: Grace, +3,460; Seth, +1,718

2000s

  • 2000: Trinity, +2,803; Ethan, +3,783
  • 2001: Isabella, +2,587; Logan, +2,973
  • 2002: Isabella, +3,334; Ethan, +4,143
  • 2003: Emma, +6,170; Aidan, +3,108
  • 2004: Ava, +2,364; Aiden, +1,472
  • 2005: Ava, +4,959; Landon, +2,070
  • 2006: Addison, +4,595; Aiden, +2,492
  • 2007: Addison, +4,328; Jayden, +5,596
  • 2008: Peyton, +1,954; Aiden, +2,472
  • 2009: Isabella, +3,667; Liam, +2,582

2010s

2020s

Some of these names I’ve written about already, and others I plan to write about in the future. If you can give explanations for any of those others right now, though, feel free! Just leave a comment…

Update, 4/22: Here are the corresponding drops…

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: May 2025]

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2018

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

According to the government of Alberta, the most popular baby names in the Canadian province in 2018 were Olivia and Liam.

Here are Alberta’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 235 baby girls
2. Emma, 230
3. Charlotte, 175
4. Emily, 164
5. Ava, 161
6. Abigail, 153
7. Harper, 150
8. Sophia, 146
9. Amelia, 145
10. Elizabeth, 130

Boy Names
1. Liam, 225 baby boys
2. Oliver, 212
3. Noah, 199
4. Ethan, 188
5. Logan & Lucas, 182 each (tie)
6. Jacob, 181
7. William, 178
8. Benjamin, 176
9. Jack, 167
10. Alexander & James, 158 each (tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Harper and Elizabeth replaced Isabella, Aria, Chloe and Lily.

New to the boys’ top 10 are Alexander and James. (No replacements due to ties.)

Rare baby names that were bestowed just once in Alberta last year include…

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aleftina, Assurance, Balsam, Clarenelle, Desneiges, Eulogia, Finja, Geo, Havolyn, Iffoxla, Iracebeth, Joxerlee, Kinnitty, Lemon-Marie, Mirdza, Nesslin, Ozzlynn, Progress, Quindalyn, Rizabell, Stiorra, Tavery, Trusarra, Urveen, Vemia, Wichahpi, Xianelle, Yubelissa, Zenley, ZhinetorArchange, Beauxbandy, Chapter, Dax-Goku, Durden, Einjehl, Fristan, George-lucas, Grey-Cloud, Homeostasie, Irwin, Jhelton, Krypton, Lonnie, Mycroft, Nitrix, Obasha, Pavanga, Quiel, Rhonj, Scythe, Supremo, Tadmor, Thorpal, Untred, Valour, Wilmarion, Xylas, Yuzhi, Zackon

And a few more single-use girl names, all space-themed: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Galaxy, Universe.

Possible explanations for a few of the above:

  • Iracebeth (based on the word irascible) was the name given to the Red Queen in the 2010 Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland.
  • Durden was the surname of the main character in Fight Club. (I’m very surprised this one has never appeared in the U.S. data before, frankly.)
  • Mycroft Holmes was Sherlock’s older brother. Mycroft AI, “the world’s first open source assistant,” was named after Mycroft Holmes.
  • Nitrix is a brand-name bodybuilding supplement described as a “concentrated nitric oxide precursor.”
  • Rhonj happens to be the acronym for The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Could this be a Real Housewives acronym being used as a baby name?!

In 2017, the top two names in Alberta were Olivia and Noah.

Sources: Alberta’s Top Baby Names, Alberta’s top baby names for 2018

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Popular baby names in Houston (Texas), 2018

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

According to the City of Houston Health Department, the most popular baby names in Houston, Texas, in 2018 were Emma and Liam.

Here are Houston’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 376 baby girls
  2. Isabella
  3. Camila
  4. Mia
  5. Olivia
  6. Sophia
  7. Sofia
  8. Ava
  9. Abigail
  10. Evelyn

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 424 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. Jacob
  4. Daniel
  5. Mateo
  6. Dylan
  7. Matthew
  8. Ethan
  9. Sebastian
  10. Elijah

This is the first time I’ve seen an official set of baby name rankings for Houston, so I don’t have any earlier sets of Houston rankings on hand for comparison.

That said, I do have a recent set of rankings for nearby College Station, if you’d like to take a look. (The current College Station rankings should be up in a few weeks…)

Source: Emma, Liam hold title as most popular baby names in Houston for 2018

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)

Popular baby names in Oxfordshire (England), 2018

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, the English county of Oxfordshire welcomed 7,745 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Oliver, according to data released recently by the Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service.

Here are Oxfordshire’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Isabella
  3. Amelia
  4. Florence
  5. Lily
  6. Evelyn
  7. Isla
  8. Emilia
  9. Sophie
  10. Ava

Boy names

  1. Oliver
  2. George
  3. Oscar
  4. Jacob
  5. William
  6. Jack
  7. Benjamin
  8. Joshua
  9. Charlie
  10. Henry

In the girls’ top 10, Evelyn, Emilia, and Sophie replaced Poppy, Emily, and Evie.

In the boys’ top 10, William, Joshua, and Charlie replaced Arthur, Alfie, and Muhammed.

The registrar also made note of the rise in hyphenated first names (for the second year in a row, actually).

In 2017, the top names in the county were Lily and Oliver.

Update, Nov. 2019: The top baby names in England and Wales in 2018 were also Olivia and Oliver.

Source: Clayton, Indya. “Oxfordshire’s most popular baby names revealed.” Oxford Mail 1 Feb. 2019.

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)