Doc
An affectionate shortened form of the word "doctor".
Name Census estimates that about 625 living Americans carry the first name Doc. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Doc today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Doc births was 2021 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Doc. 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
625
~ 1 in 548,407 Americans
Peak year
2021
37 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,810
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Doc: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Doc from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 177 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Doc remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Doc 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 Doc during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Docs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Doc, while California, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Doc
The name Doc is a diminutive form of the name Doctor, which originates from the Latin word "doctor" meaning "teacher" or "instructor." The name Doctor itself is derived from the verb "docere," which means "to teach." The use of the shortened form "Doc" as a given name likely emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century, when it became common to refer to medical professionals informally as "Doc."
The name Doc gained popularity as a given name in the United States, particularly in the American West during the late 19th century. It was often used as a nickname or informal title for individuals who practiced medicine or provided medical care, even if they were not formally trained doctors. This reflected the informal and rugged nature of life in the frontier regions, where access to professional medical care was often limited.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Doc being used as a given name is Doc Holliday, the famous gambler, gunfighter, and dentist who was born John Henry Holliday in 1851. He acquired the nickname "Doc" due to his training as a dentist, and it became his most commonly used name. Another notable historical figure with the name Doc was Doc Adams, a frontier doctor and politician who served as the second governor of Colorado from 1905 to 1907. His given name was William Husted Adams, but he was widely known as "Doc."
In the realm of sports, there have been several notable figures with the name Doc. Doc Blanchard, born Johnny Roosevelt Blanchard in 1924, was a legendary college football player for the Army Black Knights and won the Heisman Trophy in 1945. Doc Rivers, born Glenn Anthony Rivers in 1961, is a former NBA player and current head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He acquired the nickname "Doc" during his playing days due to his intellectual demeanor and his ability to facilitate plays.
In the world of literature, Doc Lonehill is the nickname given to the character John Lonehill in the novel "Doc" by Mary Doria Russell, published in 2011. The novel is a fictional portrayal of the life of Doc Holliday, the famous gunfighter and dentist.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the given name Doc, reflecting its connection to the medical profession, as well as its informal and rugged connotations, particularly in the American West.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Doc
People
Doc + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Doc as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Doc: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Doc?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 625 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Doc 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 548,407 US residents.
Is Doc a common name?
We classify Doc as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,364 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Doc most popular?
The single biggest year for Doc was 2021, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Doc is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Doc a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Doc 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.