Boy
Masculine name of Old English origin meaning "servant" or "attendant".
Name Census estimates that about 848 living Americans carry the first name Boy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Boy today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Boy births was 2019 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Boy. 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
848
~ 1 in 404,191 Americans
Peak year
2019
42 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,436
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Boy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Boy from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 263 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Boy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Boy 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 Boy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Boys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, North Dakota, Ohio recorded the most babies named Boy, while Maryland, Colorado, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Boy
The given name Boy has its origins in the Middle Dutch language, specifically in the region of the Netherlands during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old Dutch word "boie," which was a term used to refer to a young male servant or attendant.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the name Boy was commonly used as a nickname or diminutive form of longer names such as Boydewijn or Boudewijn, which were Dutch variations of the Germanic name Baldwin. This name gained popularity among the Dutch aristocracy and merchant classes during this time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boy can be found in the Chronicles of Holland, a historical text dating back to the 13th century. The text mentions a nobleman named Boy van Heukelom, who lived during the late 12th century and played a role in the political affairs of the County of Holland.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Boy. One such figure was Boy Ecury, a Dutch painter and engraver who lived from 1579 to 1665 and was renowned for his landscapes and cityscapes depicting scenes from the Netherlands.
Another famous bearer of the name was Boy Lornsen, a Dutch naval officer and explorer who was born in 1716. He is best known for his expeditions to the East Indies and his contributions to the Dutch East India Company's maritime activities in the 18th century.
In the 19th century, Boy Houwens Eckhout, a Dutch artist born in 1610, gained recognition for his vibrant and detailed depictions of Brazilian flora and fauna. His works, which were created during his time in the Dutch colony of Brazil, are highly regarded for their artistic and historical value.
Moving into the 20th century, Boy Ecury Jr., born in 1897, followed in his grandfather's footsteps as a renowned Dutch painter, known for his landscapes and still life works. His artistic career spanned several decades and earned him recognition both nationally and internationally.
While the name Boy was primarily used in the Netherlands and within Dutch communities, it has also been adopted in other cultures and regions over time, though its usage has been relatively uncommon compared to more traditional given names.
People
Boy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Boy 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
Boy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Boy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 848 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Boy 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 404,191 US residents.
Is Boy a common name?
We classify Boy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 898 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Boy most popular?
The single biggest year for Boy was 2019, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Boy is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Boy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Boy 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.