Popularity of the name Mason, 1880–2025
Mason was at its most popular in 2011, when 19,530 boys were given the name: about 1 in 97 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #2. In 2025, 6,291 boys were named Mason, ranking #39. In all, Social Security counts 342,583 boys named Mason since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,348 girls named Mason.
- Peak year
- 2011
- Rank in 2011
- #2
- Babies in 2011
- 19,530
- Rank in 2025
- #39
- Total since 1880
- 342,583
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #3 in 2015 to #39 in 2025, with 16,675 boys named Mason in 2015 and 6,291 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Mason ranked highest in the 2010s, at #5, with 157,911 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #465 in the 1880s and #26 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 22 in 1880 (#363), 32 in 1900 (#393), 142 in 1920 (#511), 77 in 1940 (#689), 80 in 1960 (#842), 336 in 1980 (#459), 6,516 in 2000 (#64) and 10,117 in 2020 (#11).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 19,530, in 2011. Its best rank, #2, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Mason, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 22 | #363 |
| 1881 | 13 | #487 |
| 1882 | 12 | #540 |
| 1883 | 12 | #527 |
| 1884 | 14 | #504 |
| 1885 | 15 | #480 |
| 1886 | 18 | #417 |
| 1887 | 13 | #488 |
| 1888 | 14 | #528 |
| 1889 | 21 | #388 |
| 1890 | 16 | #458 |
| 1891 | 11 | #564 |
| 1892 | 20 | #422 |
| 1893 | 12 | #572 |
| 1894 | 18 | #464 |
| 1895 | 19 | #456 |
| 1896 | 18 | #481 |
| 1897 | 23 | #392 |
| 1898 | 15 | #543 |
| 1899 | 19 | #424 |
| 1900 | 32 | #393 |
| 1901 | 15 | #506 |
| 1902 | 24 | #415 |
| 1903 | 21 | #451 |
| 1904 | 20 | #482 |
| 1905 | 22 | #477 |
| 1906 | 20 | #503 |
| 1907 | 22 | #495 |
| 1908 | 27 | #475 |
| 1909 | 16 | #679 |
| 1910 | 27 | #546 |
| 1911 | 30 | #548 |
| 1912 | 58 | #515 |
| 1913 | 85 | #465 |
| 1914 | 89 | #520 |
| 1915 | 98 | #572 |
| 1916 | 136 | #485 |
| 1917 | 114 | #549 |
| 1918 | 116 | #561 |
| 1919 | 125 | #531 |
| 1920 | 142 | #511 |
| 1921 | 144 | #515 |
| 1922 | 131 | #551 |
| 1923 | 128 | #542 |
| 1924 | 119 | #583 |
| 1925 | 114 | #588 |
| 1926 | 122 | #552 |
| 1927 | 108 | #597 |
| 1928 | 108 | #594 |
| 1929 | 96 | #620 |
| 1930 | 95 | #629 |
| 1931 | 85 | #643 |
| 1932 | 86 | #657 |
| 1933 | 83 | #634 |
| 1934 | 89 | #635 |
| 1935 | 82 | #658 |
| 1936 | 82 | #637 |
| 1937 | 71 | #713 |
| 1938 | 80 | #672 |
| 1939 | 80 | #663 |
| 1940 | 77 | #689 |
| 1941 | 80 | #683 |
| 1942 | 103 | #620 |
| 1943 | 89 | #677 |
| 1944 | 91 | #651 |
| 1945 | 69 | #736 |
| 1946 | 84 | #711 |
| 1947 | 89 | #727 |
| 1948 | 92 | #697 |
| 1949 | 93 | #713 |
| 1950 | 90 | #721 |
| 1951 | 86 | #749 |
| 1952 | 85 | #763 |
| 1953 | 81 | #796 |
| 1954 | 70 | #876 |
| 1955 | 98 | #736 |
| 1956 | 92 | #770 |
| 1957 | 72 | #889 |
| 1958 | 89 | #790 |
| 1959 | 85 | #825 |
| 1960 | 80 | #842 |
| 1961 | 89 | #808 |
| 1962 | 89 | #802 |
| 1963 | 94 | #785 |
| 1964 | 98 | #768 |
| 1965 | 73 | #859 |
| 1966 | 90 | #766 |
| 1967 | 87 | #782 |
| 1968 | 102 | #736 |
| 1969 | 156 | #633 |
| 1970 | 178 | #610 |
| 1971 | 166 | #637 |
| 1972 | 132 | #698 |
| 1973 | 151 | #646 |
| 1974 | 268 | #488 |
| 1975 | 307 | #458 |
| 1976 | 249 | #507 |
| 1977 | 260 | #508 |
| 1978 | 267 | #496 |
| 1979 | 318 | #455 |
| 1980 | 336 | #459 |
| 1981 | 309 | #474 |
| 1982 | 327 | #468 |
| 1983 | 242 | #541 |
| 1984 | 278 | #508 |
| 1985 | 456 | #396 |
| 1986 | 651 | #311 |
| 1987 | 818 | #268 |
| 1988 | 1,026 | #235 |
| 1989 | 1,098 | #240 |
| 1990 | 1,479 | #208 |
| 1991 | 2,035 | #159 |
| 1992 | 2,199 | #149 |
| 1993 | 2,475 | #137 |
| 1994 | 2,802 | #125 |
| 1995 | 3,631 | #102 |
| 1996 | 3,882 | #104 |
| 1997 | 4,268 | #89 |
| 1998 | 4,658 | #83 |
| 1999 | 5,451 | #71 |
| 2000 | 6,516 | #64 |
| 2001 | 7,447 | #53 |
| 2002 | 7,878 | #53 |
| 2003 | 7,897 | #54 |
| 2004 | 8,619 | #51 |
| 2005 | 9,771 | #42 |
| 2006 | 10,414 | #40 |
| 2007 | 10,775 | #37 |
| 2008 | 10,489 | #35 |
| 2009 | 10,696 | #34 |
| 2010 | 14,858 | #12 |
| 2011 | 19,530 | #2 |
| 2012 | 18,994 | #2 |
| 2013 | 17,730 | #4 |
| 2014 | 17,225 | #3 |
| 2015 | 16,675 | #3 |
| 2016 | 15,287 | #4 |
| 2017 | 13,602 | #7 |
| 2018 | 12,526 | #9 |
| 2019 | 11,484 | #9 |
| 2020 | 10,117 | #11 |
| 2021 | 9,103 | #18 |
| 2022 | 8,051 | #24 |
| 2023 | 7,259 | #30 |
| 2024 | 6,492 | #42 |
| 2025 | 6,291 | #39 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.