Popularity of the name Owen, 1880–2025
Owen was at its most popular in 2016, when 10,305 boys were given the name: about 1 in 180 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #24. In 2025, 7,190 boys were named Owen, ranking #31. In all, Social Security counts 245,644 boys named Owen since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 676 girls named Owen.
- Peak year
- 2016
- Rank in 2016
- #24
- Babies in 2016
- 10,305
- Rank in 2025
- #31
- Total since 1880
- 245,644
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name climbed from #36 in 2015 to #31 in 2025: 9,608 boys got it in 2015, and 7,190 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade is the 2020s so far, when 48,832 boys were named Owen, #20 for the decade. It started at #176 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 78 in 1880 (#168), 93 in 1900 (#203), 598 in 1920 (#217), 363 in 1940 (#294), 386 in 1960 (#404), 351 in 1980 (#442), 2,715 in 2000 (#144) and 8,669 in 2020 (#22).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 10,305, in 2016. Its best rank in any year was #18, first reached in 2022.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Owen, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 78 | #168 |
| 1881 | 67 | #174 |
| 1882 | 65 | #197 |
| 1883 | 63 | #185 |
| 1884 | 91 | #150 |
| 1885 | 70 | #187 |
| 1886 | 83 | #168 |
| 1887 | 68 | #183 |
| 1888 | 98 | #155 |
| 1889 | 75 | #180 |
| 1890 | 68 | #194 |
| 1891 | 73 | #179 |
| 1892 | 102 | #157 |
| 1893 | 80 | #180 |
| 1894 | 80 | #184 |
| 1895 | 75 | #194 |
| 1896 | 83 | #196 |
| 1897 | 70 | #201 |
| 1898 | 64 | #219 |
| 1899 | 66 | #200 |
| 1900 | 93 | #203 |
| 1901 | 80 | #179 |
| 1902 | 63 | #226 |
| 1903 | 83 | #191 |
| 1904 | 71 | #219 |
| 1905 | 89 | #196 |
| 1906 | 82 | #217 |
| 1907 | 104 | #195 |
| 1908 | 105 | #196 |
| 1909 | 90 | #231 |
| 1910 | 118 | #214 |
| 1911 | 156 | #194 |
| 1912 | 265 | #209 |
| 1913 | 293 | #216 |
| 1914 | 356 | #225 |
| 1915 | 479 | #216 |
| 1916 | 488 | #219 |
| 1917 | 489 | #223 |
| 1918 | 591 | #211 |
| 1919 | 556 | #221 |
| 1920 | 598 | #217 |
| 1921 | 703 | #195 |
| 1922 | 632 | #205 |
| 1923 | 587 | #223 |
| 1924 | 634 | #213 |
| 1925 | 582 | #227 |
| 1926 | 554 | #238 |
| 1927 | 552 | #238 |
| 1928 | 505 | #250 |
| 1929 | 526 | #236 |
| 1930 | 513 | #245 |
| 1931 | 456 | #251 |
| 1932 | 444 | #256 |
| 1933 | 440 | #249 |
| 1934 | 435 | #259 |
| 1935 | 411 | #268 |
| 1936 | 385 | #276 |
| 1937 | 412 | #267 |
| 1938 | 406 | #274 |
| 1939 | 383 | #283 |
| 1940 | 363 | #294 |
| 1941 | 412 | #285 |
| 1942 | 415 | #298 |
| 1943 | 418 | #300 |
| 1944 | 392 | #303 |
| 1945 | 369 | #308 |
| 1946 | 392 | #324 |
| 1947 | 406 | #339 |
| 1948 | 386 | #341 |
| 1949 | 369 | #351 |
| 1950 | 389 | #341 |
| 1951 | 377 | #353 |
| 1952 | 455 | #326 |
| 1953 | 414 | #341 |
| 1954 | 402 | #361 |
| 1955 | 347 | #387 |
| 1956 | 400 | #371 |
| 1957 | 406 | #382 |
| 1958 | 370 | #406 |
| 1959 | 385 | #405 |
| 1960 | 386 | #404 |
| 1961 | 353 | #424 |
| 1962 | 350 | #428 |
| 1963 | 280 | #474 |
| 1964 | 293 | #464 |
| 1965 | 273 | #470 |
| 1966 | 264 | #472 |
| 1967 | 228 | #496 |
| 1968 | 215 | #514 |
| 1969 | 274 | #460 |
| 1970 | 238 | #523 |
| 1971 | 248 | #518 |
| 1972 | 316 | #446 |
| 1973 | 337 | #427 |
| 1974 | 337 | #427 |
| 1975 | 298 | #466 |
| 1976 | 277 | #474 |
| 1977 | 324 | #441 |
| 1978 | 271 | #489 |
| 1979 | 371 | #412 |
| 1980 | 351 | #442 |
| 1981 | 381 | #429 |
| 1982 | 376 | #431 |
| 1983 | 357 | #437 |
| 1984 | 399 | #413 |
| 1985 | 412 | #422 |
| 1986 | 408 | #428 |
| 1987 | 461 | #404 |
| 1988 | 467 | #417 |
| 1989 | 438 | #448 |
| 1990 | 480 | #453 |
| 1991 | 455 | #462 |
| 1992 | 453 | #473 |
| 1993 | 457 | #460 |
| 1994 | 490 | #453 |
| 1995 | 701 | #350 |
| 1996 | 1,005 | #277 |
| 1997 | 1,368 | #224 |
| 1998 | 1,872 | #179 |
| 1999 | 2,377 | #153 |
| 2000 | 2,715 | #144 |
| 2001 | 3,032 | #130 |
| 2002 | 4,190 | #94 |
| 2003 | 5,701 | #72 |
| 2004 | 6,707 | #67 |
| 2005 | 7,169 | #60 |
| 2006 | 8,173 | #58 |
| 2007 | 8,247 | #56 |
| 2008 | 7,802 | #58 |
| 2009 | 8,142 | #51 |
| 2010 | 8,177 | #47 |
| 2011 | 8,341 | #44 |
| 2012 | 8,695 | #38 |
| 2013 | 8,766 | #38 |
| 2014 | 9,159 | #36 |
| 2015 | 9,608 | #36 |
| 2016 | 10,305 | #24 |
| 2017 | 9,363 | #28 |
| 2018 | 9,337 | #25 |
| 2019 | 9,347 | #21 |
| 2020 | 8,669 | #22 |
| 2021 | 8,770 | #22 |
| 2022 | 8,589 | #18 |
| 2023 | 8,015 | #20 |
| 2024 | 7,599 | #26 |
| 2025 | 7,190 | #31 |
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.