Boss
An English masculine name derived from the word meaning "supervisor" or "master".
Name Census estimates that about 216 living Americans carry the first name Boss. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Boss today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Boss births was 2018 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Boss. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
216
~ 1 in 1,586,826 Americans
Peak year
2018
16 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,072
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Boss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Boss from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 123 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Boss remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Boss by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Boss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Boss
The name Boss is an English word derived from the Dutch word "baas," which means master or leader. It is believed to have originated in the late 16th century and was initially used as a term of respect for a person in a position of authority or leadership.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boss can be found in the writings of English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Taming of the Shrew," written around 1592, one of the characters is referred to as "Boss Petruccio," suggesting that the name was already in use during that time period.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Boss was often associated with individuals who held prominent positions in society, such as landowners, merchants, or military leaders. One notable figure was Boss Tweed (1823-1878), an American politician and leader of the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City.
During the Industrial Revolution, the name Boss became more widely used to refer to individuals who were in charge of factories, businesses, or other enterprises. It was a term that conveyed respect and authority, and was often used to address the owners or managers of companies.
In the 20th century, the name Boss gained popularity as a first name, particularly in English-speaking countries. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Boss Rutten (born 1965), a Dutch mixed martial artist and actor known for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Other notable individuals named Boss include Boss Bailey (born 1979), an American football player who played in the National Football League (NFL), and Boss Tenors (born 1985), an American rapper and songwriter from Chicago.
While the name Boss is primarily associated with English-speaking cultures, it has also been adopted in other parts of the world, particularly in countries with historical ties to the Dutch or English language. However, its use as a first name remains relatively rare compared to its more common usage as a title or term of respect.
People
Boss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Boss as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Boss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Boss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Boss going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,586,826 US residents.
Is Boss a common name?
We classify Boss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 444 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Boss most popular?
The single biggest year for Boss was 2018, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Boss is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Boss a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Boss in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.