NameTides

James

James was the #6 boys' name in the US in 2025 (11,945 babies), and #42 in England & Wales and #12 in Canada.

James as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
  • VIC
James as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies 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.025507510018801900192019401960198020002020Northern IrelandIrelandScotlandUSCanadaEngland & Wales
James as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies 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.02550751001880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSWVIC
2025#6 (11,945)#42 (1,211)#14 (199)#3 (135)#4 (359)#12 (1,062)#15 (252)#30 (181)
2024#5 (11,856)#40 (1,252)#14 (203)#1 (143)#5 (336)#8 (1,115)#21 (214)#19 (225)
2023#4 (11,739)#35 (1,430)#12 (223)#3 (131)#3 (369)#11 (1,129)#12 (279)#19 (202)
2022#4 (12,119)#34 (1,534)#9 (243)#1 (175)#3 (412)#11 (1,162)#17 (294)#22 (202)
2021#5 (12,474)#30 (1,772)#8 (252)#3 (173)#3 (442)#13 (1,253)#18 (310)#24 (213)
2020#6 (12,390)#24 (1,977)#3 (292)#1 (190)#2 (495)#10 (1,255)#11 (344)#16 (248)
2019#6 (13,198)#22 (2,336)#3 (345)#1 (231)#2 (534)#10 (1,343)#9 (363)#14 (278)
2018#4 (13,650)#21 (2,536)#3 (323)#1 (217)#2 (589)#10 (1,445)#11 (368)#15 (249)
2017#4 (14,362)#17 (2,925)#3 (368)#1 (243)#2 (619)#10 (1,427)#5 (403)#6 (323)
2016#5 (14,920)#12 (3,580)#2 (421)#1 (254)#1 (688)#10 (1,474)#6 (455)#5 (333)
2015#7 (14,865)#11 (3,912)#3 (416)#1 (300)#2 (697)#12 (1,392)#5 (451)#7 (286)
2014#9 (14,464)#9 (4,167)#2 (466)#2 (276)#2 (695)#14 (1,315)#5 (484)#6 (337)
2013#13 (13,596)#9 (4,236)#2 (434)#2 (285)#2 (746)#15 (1,243)#5 (514)#6 (372)
2012#14 (13,458)#10 (4,495)#3 (428)#2 (300)#2 (773)#17 (1,160)#10 (498)#7 (381)
2011#17 (13,275)#8 (4,945)#3 (480)#2 (284)#2 (796)#15 (1,191)#11 (481)#7 (380)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1944 at #1.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • In the US records since the data begins in 1880.

How common is it?

about 1 in 140 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 7. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 140very common
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 220common
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 99very common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 61very common
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 66very common
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 150very common

Next year

On its recent trend, James is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 150 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 140 to 1 in 150.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

James by state, 2025Alaska: #5AKMaine: #8MEWisconsin: #8WIVermont: #7VTNew Hampshire: #4NHWashington: #8WAIdaho: #9IDMontana: #6MTNorth Dakota: #9NDMinnesota: #6MNIllinois: #7ILMichigan: #5MINew York: #8NYMassachusetts: #5MAOregon: #11ORNevada: #9NVWyoming: #2WYSouth Dakota: #13SDIowa: #7IAIndiana: #6INOhio: #8OHPennsylvania: #6PANew Jersey: #6NJConnecticut: #4CTRhode Island: #11RICalifornia: #22CAUtah: #9UTColorado: #5CONebraska: #7NEMissouri: #8MOKentucky: #9KYWest Virginia: #11WVVirginia: #6VAMaryland: #9MDDelaware: #4DEArizona: #21AZNew Mexico: #24NMKansas: #6KSArkansas: #6ARTennessee: #4TNNorth Carolina: #5NCSouth Carolina: #4SCDistrict of Columbia: #6DCOklahoma: #10OKLouisiana: #3LAMississippi: #1MSAlabama: #3ALGeorgia: #5GAHawaii: #18HITexas: #12TXFlorida: #8FL
James (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#11426
Quebec2025#19298

James (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
JamesCanadaGirls#3,4785
JamesCanadaBoys#121,062
JamesEngland & WalesGirls—too few
JamesEngland & WalesBoys#421,211
JamesIrelandBoys#4359
JamesNorthern IrelandGirls—too few
JamesNorthern IrelandBoys#3135
JamesNSWBoys#15252
JamesScotlandBoys#14199
JamesUSGirls#2,85959
JamesUSBoys#611,945
JamesVICBoys#30181