NameTides

Bear

Bear was the #853 boys' name in the US in 2025 (286 babies), and #360 in England & Wales and #1,443 in Canada.

Bear as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
Bear as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020England & WalesScotlandIrelandUSCanada
Bear as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.250.50.7511880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanada
2025#853 (286)#360 (117)#441 (7)—#676 (4)#1,443 (16)
2024#826 (302)#519 (75)#432 (7)——#927 (27)
2023#820 (299)#392 (102)#533 (5)—#770 (3)#797 (31)
2022#760 (332)#342 (126)#522 (5)—#572 (5)#1,061 (21)
2021#827 (288)#398 (108)#720 (3)#326 (5)—#1,277 (16)
2020#899 (250)#359 (121)#350 (10)—#637 (4)#1,129 (19)
2019#897 (244)#382 (114)#355 (9)——#941 (24)
2018#998 (207)#384 (113)#392 (8)——#1,836 (9)
2017#1,020 (198)#480 (85)——#610 (4)#2,439 (6)
2016#1,055 (187)#531 (73)——#601 (4)#1,683 (10)
2015#1,317 (134)#856 (36)———#1,816 (9)
2014#1,329 (131)#1,327 (19)————
2013#1,709 (86)#1,539 (15)————
2012#1,849 (79)#1,313 (19)————
2011#1,730 (85)#2,613 (7)————

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 2022 at #760.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1975.

How common is it?

about 1 in 6,000 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet fewer than 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 6,000uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 2,300uncommon
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 2,800uncommon
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 5,900uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 9,900uncommon

Next year

On its recent trend, Bear is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 5,800 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 5,200 to 1 in 6,600.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Bear by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: fewer than 5 babiesMEWisconsin: fewer than 5 babiesWIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #502WAIdaho: fewer than 5 babiesIDMontana: fewer than 5 babiesMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesNDMinnesota: #640MNIllinois: #632ILMichigan: #1,113MINew York: #1,202NYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 babiesMAOregon: #438ORNevada: fewer than 5 babiesNVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesSDIowa: fewer than 5 babiesIAIndiana: #621INOhio: #940OHPennsylvania: #1,094PANew Jersey: fewer than 5 babiesNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 babiesCTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #862CAUtah: #378UTColorado: #468CONebraska: fewer than 5 babiesNEMissouri: #518MOKentucky: fewer than 5 babiesKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 babiesWVVirginia: fewer than 5 babiesVAMaryland: fewer than 5 babiesMDDelaware: fewer than 5 babiesDEArizona: #781AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: fewer than 5 babiesKSArkansas: #555ARTennessee: #719TNNorth Carolina: fewer than 5 babiesNCSouth Carolina: #668SCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 babiesDCOklahoma: #504OKLouisiana: fewer than 5 babiesLAMississippi: fewer than 5 babiesMSAlabama: fewer than 5 babiesALGeorgia: #1,350GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #953TXFlorida: #1,056FL
Bear (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#1,3557

Bear (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
BearCanadaBoys#1,44316
BearEngland & WalesBoys#360117
BearIrelandBoys#6764
BearNorthern IrelandBoys—too few
BearScotlandBoys#4417
BearUSBoys#853286