Meaning not yet researched.
King: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 786 in 2025. Its best rank was #147 in 2017.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #147 in 2017; #405 in 2025. Every baby recorded as King in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#405 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 2017, at #147.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
King: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 786 boys in 2025. Peak: #147 in 2017 · most boys in one year: 2,696 (2017).
In 2025, 786 US boys were named King, making it the 405th most common boys’ name of the year, down 63 places from #342 in 2024. That is 220 fewer than the 1,006 boys named King in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #147, reached in 2017. That year also had the most boys given the name: 2,696. For comparison, it was #163 in 2015 and #723 in 1950.
Social Security card records list King in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 27 babies with the name. In all, 37,890 US babies have been given the name, 0.1% of them girls and 99.8% boys. Its busiest decade was the 2010s, with 20,465 babies named King.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 19,511 US boys were named King; the busiest of those years was 2017, with 2,696. In 2025 that was about 1 in 2,173 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, King ranked highest in Georgia in 2025, at #216 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Kyng (2,367 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Keng, Kiing and Kyung are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Keng (504), Kiing (127), Kyung (113), Kyong (57), Kynng (28), Kingg (20), Keing (12), Keeng (6), Kying (5), Qing (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for King in the open dataset we use.
King is listed as a nickname for Kingsley, Kingston.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 19 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 57 | #216 | #84 |
| South Carolina | 24 | #237 | #96 |
| Maryland | 21 | #261 | #93 |
| Florida | 65 | #299 | #87 |
| North Carolina | 37 | #322 | #110 |
| Virginia | 25 | #337 | #132 |
| Missouri | 19 | #342 | #191 |
| Louisiana | 15 | #347 | #81 |
| Texas | 107 | #351 | #154 |
| Michigan | 23 | #385 | #123 |
| Ohio | 29 | #386 | #171 |
| Kentucky | 13 | #391 | #344 |
| Illinois | 28 | #391 | #161 |
| Mississippi | 8 | #393 | #92 |
| New York | 42 | #413 | #158 |
| Connecticut | 7 | #419 | #132 |
| New Jersey | 19 | #424 | #155 |
| Pennsylvania | 24 | #433 | #167 |
| California | 70 | #458 | #200 |
| Tennessee | 17 | #467 | #155 |
| Alabama | 11 | #472 | #129 |
| Arizona | 15 | #477 | #245 |
| Nevada | 6 | #486 | #148 |
| Minnesota | 11 | #496 | #332 |
| Arkansas | 6 | #524 | #160 |
| Massachusetts | 9 | #537 | #251 |
| Utah | 7 | #595 | #488 |
| Colorado | 9 | #598 | #403 |
| Indiana | 11 | #604 | #185 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | #657 | #184 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | #666 | #191 |
| Washington | 8 | #770 | #261 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 786 | #405 |
| 2024 | — | — | 1,006 | #342 |
| 2023 | — | — | 1,286 | #265 |
| 2022 | — | — | 1,656 | #222 |
| 2021 | 5 | #16,545 | 2,055 | #185 |
| 2020 | — | — | 2,268 | #171 |
| 2019 | 5 | #16,863 | 2,473 | #157 |
| 2018 | 6 | #14,802 | 2,613 | #149 |
| 2017 | 9 | #11,184 | 2,696 | #147 |
| 2016 | 5 | #17,638 | 2,672 | #153 |
| 2015 | — | — | 2,568 | #163 |
| 2014 | — | — | 2,438 | #175 |
| 2013 | — | — | 2,110 | #193 |
| 2012 | — | — | 1,434 | #257 |
| 2011 | — | — | 730 | #389 |
| 2010 | — | — | 706 | #399 |
| 2009 | — | — | 591 | #461 |
| 2008 | — | — | 329 | #711 |
| 2007 | — | — | 321 | #720 |
| 2006 | — | — | 219 | #894 |
| 2005 | — | — | 149 | #1,107 |
| 2004 | — | — | 77 | #1,684 |
| 2003 | — | — | 70 | #1,744 |
| 2002 | — | — | 57 | #1,962 |
| 2001 | — | — | 63 | #1,789 |
| 2000 | — | — | 74 | #1,597 |
| 1999 | — | — | 46 | #2,083 |
| 1998 | — | — | 52 | #1,889 |
| 1997 | — | — | 45 | #2,012 |
| 1996 | — | — | 38 | #2,206 |
| 1995 | — | — | 40 | #2,073 |
| 1994 | — | — | 50 | #1,761 |
| 1993 | — | — | 42 | #1,955 |
| 1992 | — | — | 40 | #1,989 |
| 1991 | — | — | 39 | #1,973 |
| 1990 | — | — | 47 | #1,717 |
| 1989 | — | — | 28 | #2,390 |
| 1988 | — | — | 30 | #2,116 |
| 1987 | — | — | 21 | #2,603 |
| 1986 | — | — | 31 | #1,943 |
| 1985 | — | — | 41 | #1,580 |
| 1984 | — | — | 31 | #1,815 |
| 1983 | — | — | 31 | #1,801 |
| 1982 | — | — | 54 | #1,270 |
| 1981 | — | — | 40 | #1,533 |
| 1980 | — | — | 28 | #1,985 |
| 1979 | — | — | 41 | #1,478 |
| 1978 | — | — | 36 | #1,585 |
| 1977 | — | — | 28 | #1,843 |
| 1976 | — | — | 26 | #1,906 |
| 1975 | — | — | 30 | #1,685 |
| 1974 | — | — | 25 | #1,866 |
| 1973 | — | — | 24 | #1,850 |
| 1972 | — | — | 41 | #1,318 |
| 1971 | — | — | 34 | #1,480 |
| 1970 | — | — | 31 | #1,535 |
| 1969 | — | — | 27 | #1,587 |
| 1968 | — | — | 42 | #1,174 |
| 1967 | — | — | 37 | #1,239 |
| 1966 | — | — | 37 | #1,252 |
| 1965 | — | — | 45 | #1,119 |
| 1964 | 5 | #7,275 | 77 | #873 |
| 1963 | — | — | 42 | #1,205 |
| 1962 | — | — | 59 | #998 |
| 1961 | — | — | 35 | #1,358 |
| 1960 | — | — | 53 | #1,064 |
| 1959 | — | — | 60 | #1,001 |
| 1958 | — | — | 53 | #1,057 |
| 1957 | — | — | 64 | #950 |
| 1956 | — | — | 59 | #973 |
| 1955 | — | — | 68 | #902 |
| 1954 | — | — | 77 | #827 |
| 1953 | — | — | 63 | #906 |
| 1952 | — | — | 93 | #731 |
| 1951 | — | — | 81 | #783 |
| 1950 | — | — | 90 | #723 |
| 1949 | — | — | 79 | #777 |
| 1948 | — | — | 84 | #734 |
| 1947 | — | — | 79 | #775 |
| 1946 | — | — | 78 | #748 |
| 1945 | — | — | 80 | #673 |
| 1944 | — | — | 82 | #691 |
| 1943 | — | — | 86 | #695 |
| 1942 | — | — | 105 | #618 |
| 1941 | — | — | 70 | #741 |
| 1940 | — | — | 75 | #700 |
| 1939 | — | — | 87 | #632 |
| 1938 | — | — | 91 | #625 |
| 1937 | — | — | 85 | #645 |
| 1936 | — | — | 71 | #711 |
| 1935 | — | — | 67 | #755 |
| 1934 | — | — | 91 | #632 |
| 1933 | — | — | 79 | #662 |
| 1932 | — | — | 67 | #775 |
| 1931 | — | — | 73 | #714 |
| 1930 | — | — | 90 | #649 |
| 1929 | 5 | #4,941 | 94 | #632 |
| 1928 | — | — | 81 | #705 |
| 1927 | — | — | 85 | #705 |
| 1926 | — | — | 113 | #592 |
| 1925 | — | — | 95 | #658 |
| 1924 | — | — | 109 | #612 |
| 1923 | — | — | 100 | #642 |
| 1922 | — | — | 114 | #606 |
| 1921 | — | — | 99 | #650 |
| 1920 | — | — | 108 | #607 |
| 1919 | — | — | 120 | #547 |
| 1918 | — | — | 89 | #654 |
| 1917 | — | — | 90 | #626 |
| 1916 | — | — | 102 | #568 |
| 1915 | — | — | 111 | #530 |
| 1914 | — | — | 74 | #584 |
| 1913 | — | — | 58 | #575 |
| 1912 | — | — | 72 | #465 |
| 1911 | — | — | 32 | #526 |
| 1910 | — | — | 47 | #378 |
| 1909 | — | — | 31 | #457 |
| 1908 | — | — | 37 | #385 |
| 1907 | — | — | 37 | #371 |
| 1906 | — | — | 28 | #417 |
| 1905 | — | — | 24 | #456 |
| 1904 | — | — | 24 | #441 |
| 1903 | — | — | 19 | #496 |
| 1902 | — | — | 29 | #372 |
| 1901 | — | — | 15 | #521 |
| 1900 | — | — | 33 | #391 |
| 1899 | — | — | 23 | #389 |
| 1898 | — | — | 27 | #382 |
| 1897 | — | — | 32 | #328 |
| 1896 | — | — | 24 | #403 |
| 1895 | — | — | 24 | #395 |
| 1894 | — | — | 20 | #430 |
| 1893 | — | — | 23 | #379 |
| 1892 | — | — | 26 | #378 |
| 1891 | — | — | 13 | #514 |
| 1890 | — | — | 21 | #399 |
| 1889 | — | — | 21 | #396 |
| 1888 | — | — | 27 | #357 |
| 1887 | — | — | 13 | #501 |
| 1886 | — | — | 23 | #362 |
| 1885 | — | — | 25 | #350 |
| 1884 | — | — | 25 | #359 |
| 1883 | — | — | 22 | #364 |
| 1882 | — | — | 26 | #350 |
| 1881 | — | — | 20 | #381 |
| 1880 | — | — | 27 | #331 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).