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Social Security Administration

Datassa.gov

Baby name popularity, baby name ranks and baby name birth counts

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The Social Security Administration reports annual U.S. baby-name ranks and counts nationwide since 1880 and by state since 1960; counts under five are withheld.

Get name popularity

Get yearly U.S. baby-name ranks and reported birth counts from Social Security data. Ranks cover the top 1,000 names for each sex; counts are unavailable for names reported fewer than five times.

Your information

Birth-record sex, such as female. Defaults to the more common sex for this name across the available years.

Last birth year to include, such as 2025. Defaults to the latest available year.

First birth year to include, such as 1990. Defaults to 1990.

First name to check, such as Olivia.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

James

male, U.S. baby-name rankings

  1. 1990

    # 8, 32,359 births

  2. 1991

    # 7, 30,514 births

  3. 1992

    # 9, 28,513 births

  4. 1993

    # 14, 26,259 births

Social Security baby-name data

Choose an action

About the Social Security Administration tool

Social Security Administration (SSA) Get name popularity returns yearly U.S. ranks and reported birth counts for a required first name.

Birth-record sex and year bounds are optional inputs to Get name popularity.

List top baby names returns ranked U.S. or state names and birth counts for a year, with optional state and result limit.

Built from ssa.gov. Last checked Sep 29, 2026.

Actions

Get name popularity

1 credit

Get yearly U.S. baby-name ranks and reported birth counts from Social Security data. Ranks cover the top 1,000 names for each sex; counts are unavailable for names reported fewer than five times.

What you provide

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
SexsexTextOptionalBirth-record sex, such as female. Defaults to the more common sex for this name across the available years.Example: Male
To Yearto_yearNumberOptionalLast birth year to include, such as 2025. Defaults to the latest available year.Example: 1993
From Yearfrom_yearNumberOptionalFirst birth year to include, such as 1990. Defaults to 1990.Example: 1990
First Namefirst_nameTextRequiredFirst name to check, such as Olivia.Example: James

What you get

FieldTypeDescription
SexsexTextBirth-record sex used for the rankings.Example: Male
NamenameTextName as reported by Social Security.Example: James
YearsyearsListAnnual popularity in chronological order. A missing count means fewer than five births were reported for that name and sex.
Yearyears[].yearNumberBirth year.Example: 1990
Page Linkyears[].page_linkTextSocial Security page for looking up this year’s baby-name popularity.Example: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Popularity Rankyears[].popularity_rankNumberRank among names of this sex, or null if not in the top 1,000.Example: 8
Number of Babiesyears[].number_of_babiesNumberReported births with this name and sex, or null when unavailable.Example: 32359

Example result

For Sex: Male, To Year: 1993, From Year: 1990, First Name: James

JSON
{
  "sex": "male",
  "name": "James",
  "years": [
    {
      "year": 1990,
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "popularity_rank": 8,
      "number_of_babies": 32359
    },
    {
      "year": 1991,
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "popularity_rank": 7,
      "number_of_babies": 30514
    },
    {
      "year": 1992,
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "popularity_rank": 9,
      "number_of_babies": 28513
    }
  ]
}

List top baby names

1 credit

List ranked U.S. baby names and birth counts for a year, nationwide or in a state. National years begin in 1880; state years begin in 1960. State lists contain at most 100 ranks.

What you provide

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
YearyearNumberOptionalBirth year, such as 2024. Defaults to the latest available year.Example: 2024
StatestateTextOptionalU.S. state name or two-letter code, such as California or CA. Leave blank for the whole United States.Example: California
Max Resultsmax_resultsNumberOptionalMaximum ranks to return, such as 20. Up to 100 for a state, or 1000 nationwide.Example: 20

What you get

FieldTypeDescription
AreaareaTextUnited States or state name.Example: United States
YearyearNumberBirth year.Example: 2025
NamesnamesList
Ranknames[].rankNumberExample: 1
Boy Namenames[].boy_nameTextExample: Liam
Girl Namenames[].girl_nameTextExample: Olivia
Page Linknames[].page_linkTextSSA page where visitors can select and view this list.Example: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Number of Boysnames[].number_of_boysNumberExample: 20818
Number of Girlsnames[].number_of_girlsNumberExample: 13544

Example result

For

JSON
{
  "area": "United States",
  "year": 2025,
  "names": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "boy_name": "Liam",
      "girl_name": "Olivia",
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "number_of_boys": 20818,
      "number_of_girls": 13544
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "boy_name": "Noah",
      "girl_name": "Charlotte",
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "number_of_boys": 20358,
      "number_of_girls": 13400
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "boy_name": "Oliver",
      "girl_name": "Emma",
      "page_link": "https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/",
      "number_of_boys": 14939,
      "number_of_girls": 12754
    }
  ]
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL
curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@social-security-administration",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_name_popularity",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "sex": "male",
    "to_year": 1993,
    "from_year": 1990,
    "first_name": "James"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

  • Track a first name’s rank and reported births over time
  • Compare ranked baby names across states
  • Find top boy and girl names for a birth year
  • Review national baby-name rankings by year

Questions about Social Security Administration

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this Social Security Administration tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a Social Security Administration account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from ssa.gov when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.

How popular was a first name in a given year?

Get name popularity returns yearly ranks and reported birth counts for a first name and birth-record sex.

What were the top baby names in a state?

List top baby names returns ranked names and birth counts for a selected state and year.

What were the top U.S. baby names in a year?

List top baby names returns ranked national names and birth counts for a selected year.

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