Favour
An English name meaning "kind act, help, or approval bestowed".
Name Census estimates that about 487 living Americans carry the first name Favour. It is a predominantly female name (92.5% of registrations). The average person named Favour today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Favour births was 2015 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Favour. 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
487
~ 1 in 703,808 Americans
Peak year
2015
37 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2015 SSA rank
#9,886
Tracked since 2001
Gender
Gender distribution for Favour
Favour leans heavily female at 92.5% of total registrations, but 37 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Favour as a male name
- Ranked #9,886 in 2015
- 7 male births in 2015
- Peak: 2006 (7 births)
Favour as a female name
- Ranked #10,509 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (36 births)
Popularity
Favour: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Favour from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 259 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Favour 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 Favour during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Favours live
Origin
Meaning and history of Favour
The name Favour is derived from the Latin word "favor", which means "grace" or "kindness". It originated as an English word during the 16th century and was initially used as a term to describe someone who had received a special blessing or favor.
The earliest recorded use of Favour as a given name dates back to the late 16th century in England. It was initially more common as a surname, but gradually gained popularity as a first name, particularly among Puritan families who wanted to express their religious beliefs through their children's names.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Favour was Favour Inman, an English Puritan who lived in the 17th century. She was born in 1640 and is recorded in parish records from Gloucestershire.
Another notable figure with the name Favour was Favour Fell, a Quaker minister and writer who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. She was born in 1657 and was a prominent member of the Society of Friends, publishing several works on Quaker beliefs and practices.
In the 19th century, Favour Curry Todd, an American teacher and abolitionist, gained recognition for her efforts in promoting education and advocating for the abolition of slavery. She was born in 1829 and worked tirelessly to establish schools for African American children in the South.
Favour Nolley was a British author and poet who lived in the early 20th century. Born in 1885, she published several collections of poetry and was known for her vivid descriptions of nature and the English countryside.
In more recent times, Favour Ofili, a Nigerian artist and sculptor, has gained international acclaim for her work exploring themes of identity, culture, and gender. She was born in 1976 and has exhibited her sculptures and installations in galleries around the world.
While the name Favour has its roots in English and Latin, it has also gained popularity in other cultures and languages, often with slightly different spellings or pronunciations. However, the underlying meaning of grace, kindness, and blessing remains consistent across its various forms and usages.
People
Favour + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Favour as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Favour: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Favour?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 487 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Favour 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 703,808 US residents.
Is Favour a common name?
We classify Favour as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 492 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Favour most popular?
The single biggest year for Favour was 2015, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Favour is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Favour a female name?
Yes, 92.5% of people registered as Favour in the SSA data are female. 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.