Butler
A name derived from the Old French term for wine steward or cup-bearer.
Name Census estimates that about 215 living Americans carry the first name Butler. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Butler today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Butler births was 1919 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Butler. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Butler is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Butlers were born before 1962.
People living today
215
~ 1 in 1,594,206 Americans
Peak year
1919
31 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1996 SSA rank
#8,085
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Butler: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Butler from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 199 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Butler 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 Butler during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Butlers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. South Carolina, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Butler, while North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Butler
The name Butler is an English occupational surname that originated as a nickname for someone who was employed as a professional wine steward or servant. It derives from the Old French word "bouteillier," which means "bottle bearer" or "cup bearer." This term, in turn, traces its roots back to the Late Latin word "buticula," meaning "bottle."
The name Butler first emerged in England during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It was initially used as a descriptive term for individuals who were responsible for managing the wine supply and serving drinks at the tables of wealthy households or noble estates.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Butler can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentioned a person named "Walter le Butillier" in Nottinghamshire. This historical document provides evidence that the name was already in use as an occupational descriptor during the Norman period in England.
Over the centuries, the name Butler gained prominence and became associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most famous individuals with this name was James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond (1610-1688), an Anglo-Irish statesman and military leader who played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Another prominent figure with the name Butler was Rhett Butler, the dashing and controversial protagonist of Margaret Mitchell's acclaimed novel "Gone with the Wind" (1936). Although a fictional character, Rhett Butler has become an iconic representation of the Southern gentleman during the American Civil War era.
In the realm of literature, Samuel Butler (1835-1902) was an English novelist, essayist, and satirist, best known for his works "The Way of All Flesh" and "Erewhon." He is considered a prominent figure in the late Victorian era and a significant influence on modern literature.
Additionally, the name Butler is associated with Joseph Butler (1692-1752), an English philosopher and theologian who served as the Bishop of Durham. He is renowned for his works on ethics, particularly his influential treatise "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed."
Lastly, Smedley Butler (1881-1940) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps major general who received the Medal of Honor twice for his actions during the Boxer Rebellion and the Banana Wars. He is remembered for his outspoken criticism of the military-industrial complex and his influential book "War is a Racket."
People
Butler + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Butler 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
Butler: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Butler?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Butler 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 1,594,206 US residents.
Is Butler a common name?
We classify Butler as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 987 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Butler most popular?
The single biggest year for Butler was 1919, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Butler is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Butler a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Butler 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.