Popularity of the name Sebastian, 1881–2025
Sebastian was at its most popular in 2018, when 10,137 boys were given the name: about 1 in 180 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #18. In 2025, 8,605 boys were named Sebastian, ranking #16. In all, Social Security counts 218,055 boys named Sebastian since 1881. Social Security’s records also list 408 girls named Sebastian.
- Peak year
- 2018
- Rank in 2018
- #18
- Babies in 2018
- 10,137
- Rank in 2025
- #16
- Total since 1881
- 218,055
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #35 in 2015 to #16 in 2025, with 9,632 boys named Sebastian in 2015 and 8,605 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Sebastian ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #13, with 53,454 boys given the name that decade. It started at #976 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 139 in 1920 (#519), 51 in 1940 (#881), 69 in 1960 (#911), 168 in 1980 (#665), 5,029 in 2000 (#81) and 9,029 in 2020 (#19).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 10,309, in 2016. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 2016 than for 2018, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #13, first reached in 2022.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1881 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Sebastian, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 6 | #781 |
| 1882 | 10 | #611 |
| 1885 | 5 | #936 |
| 1886 | 7 | #758 |
| 1889 | 6 | #878 |
| 1892 | 11 | #641 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,074 |
| 1895 | 8 | #795 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,101 |
| 1898 | 8 | #804 |
| 1899 | 6 | #928 |
| 1901 | 8 | #779 |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,137 |
| 1903 | 11 | #696 |
| 1904 | 9 | #810 |
| 1905 | 10 | #786 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,253 |
| 1907 | 12 | #778 |
| 1908 | 15 | #685 |
| 1909 | 14 | #756 |
| 1910 | 14 | #822 |
| 1911 | 20 | #707 |
| 1912 | 51 | #561 |
| 1913 | 63 | #545 |
| 1914 | 82 | #543 |
| 1915 | 112 | #525 |
| 1916 | 134 | #491 |
| 1917 | 122 | #522 |
| 1918 | 114 | #568 |
| 1919 | 126 | #530 |
| 1920 | 139 | #519 |
| 1921 | 130 | #546 |
| 1922 | 127 | #565 |
| 1923 | 130 | #535 |
| 1924 | 137 | #543 |
| 1925 | 108 | #608 |
| 1926 | 131 | #528 |
| 1927 | 104 | #610 |
| 1928 | 128 | #537 |
| 1929 | 97 | #615 |
| 1930 | 113 | #564 |
| 1931 | 94 | #611 |
| 1932 | 87 | #651 |
| 1933 | 75 | #685 |
| 1934 | 81 | #673 |
| 1935 | 79 | #670 |
| 1936 | 65 | #747 |
| 1937 | 62 | #781 |
| 1938 | 65 | #757 |
| 1939 | 53 | #836 |
| 1940 | 51 | #881 |
| 1941 | 60 | #817 |
| 1942 | 77 | #732 |
| 1943 | 60 | #856 |
| 1944 | 47 | #935 |
| 1945 | 47 | #943 |
| 1946 | 55 | #890 |
| 1947 | 56 | #938 |
| 1948 | 70 | #813 |
| 1949 | 51 | #967 |
| 1950 | 42 | #1,086 |
| 1951 | 44 | #1,083 |
| 1952 | 51 | #1,002 |
| 1953 | 52 | #999 |
| 1954 | 47 | #1,096 |
| 1955 | 56 | #1,002 |
| 1956 | 42 | #1,171 |
| 1957 | 50 | #1,075 |
| 1958 | 63 | #956 |
| 1959 | 53 | #1,061 |
| 1960 | 69 | #911 |
| 1961 | 105 | #751 |
| 1962 | 151 | #629 |
| 1963 | 109 | #740 |
| 1964 | 129 | #679 |
| 1965 | 104 | #731 |
| 1966 | 99 | #740 |
| 1967 | 115 | #692 |
| 1968 | 116 | #699 |
| 1969 | 116 | #723 |
| 1970 | 165 | #630 |
| 1971 | 188 | #607 |
| 1972 | 155 | #635 |
| 1973 | 129 | #707 |
| 1974 | 125 | #728 |
| 1975 | 127 | #736 |
| 1976 | 124 | #746 |
| 1977 | 120 | #778 |
| 1978 | 143 | #700 |
| 1979 | 137 | #739 |
| 1980 | 168 | #665 |
| 1981 | 175 | #642 |
| 1982 | 220 | #579 |
| 1983 | 192 | #617 |
| 1984 | 242 | #554 |
| 1985 | 288 | #515 |
| 1986 | 281 | #528 |
| 1987 | 354 | #469 |
| 1988 | 397 | #455 |
| 1989 | 522 | #408 |
| 1990 | 790 | #320 |
| 1991 | 1,033 | #262 |
| 1992 | 1,296 | #229 |
| 1993 | 1,308 | #226 |
| 1994 | 1,304 | #222 |
| 1995 | 1,435 | #206 |
| 1996 | 1,590 | #195 |
| 1997 | 1,768 | #189 |
| 1998 | 1,697 | #198 |
| 1999 | 2,378 | #152 |
| 2000 | 5,029 | #81 |
| 2001 | 4,979 | #81 |
| 2002 | 5,137 | #80 |
| 2003 | 4,649 | #93 |
| 2004 | 4,521 | #97 |
| 2005 | 4,956 | #86 |
| 2006 | 6,287 | #76 |
| 2007 | 6,274 | #73 |
| 2008 | 6,041 | #74 |
| 2009 | 5,993 | #70 |
| 2010 | 6,366 | #68 |
| 2011 | 6,551 | #68 |
| 2012 | 6,744 | #64 |
| 2013 | 7,553 | #46 |
| 2014 | 9,315 | #34 |
| 2015 | 9,632 | #35 |
| 2016 | 10,309 | #23 |
| 2017 | 10,197 | #23 |
| 2018 | 10,137 | #18 |
| 2019 | 9,884 | #18 |
| 2020 | 9,029 | #19 |
| 2021 | 8,932 | #19 |
| 2022 | 9,403 | #13 |
| 2023 | 8,892 | #13 |
| 2024 | 8,593 | #14 |
| 2025 | 8,605 | #16 |
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.