Homer
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "hostage" or "pledge".
Name Census estimates that about 14,731 living Americans carry the first name Homer. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Homer today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Homer births was 1920 (1,734 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Homer. 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
- • Although Homer is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 367 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Homer is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Homers were born before 1965.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Homer have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
15K
~ 1 in 23,268 Americans
Peak year
1920
1,734 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,105
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Homer
Out of the 61,258 babies given the name Homer since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Homer as a male name
- Ranked #4,105 in 2024
- 26 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1920 (1,722 births)
Homer as a female name
- Ranked #6,889 in 1965
- 5 female births in 1965
- Peak: 1924 (21 births)
Popularity
Homer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Homer from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 15,297 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Homer 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 Homer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Homers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Homer, while Hawaii, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,031 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Homer
The name Homer has its origins in ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the 8th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "homeros," which means "hostage" or "pledge." The name is believed to have been derived from the Greek verb "homeresthai," meaning "to join together."
One of the earliest and most famous references to the name Homer is in connection with the legendary ancient Greek poet, author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. This Homer, whose existence and identity have been the subject of much scholarly debate, is believed to have lived around the 8th century BC.
In ancient Greek mythology, Homer was also the name of a legendary blind poet and singer, who was said to have been the son of the river god Meles and the nymph Critheïs. This mythological figure was often depicted as an elderly blind man, playing a lyre.
Throughout history, the name Homer has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Homer of Byzantium, a grammarian and critic who lived in the 2nd century BC. Another notable figure was Homer of Alexandria, a Greek grammarian and critic who lived in the 3rd century AD.
In more recent times, the name Homer has been carried by several famous writers and poets. These include the American poet Homer Baxter Sprague (1829-1918), the American poet and essayist Homer Greene (1853-1940), and the British poet and translator Homer Sykes (1949-2017).
Other notable individuals with the name Homer include Homer Plessy (1862-1925), the American activist who was the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, and Homer Laughlin (1835-1913), the American businessman and founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Homer
People
Homer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Homer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Homer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Homer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,731 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Homer 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 23,268 US residents.
Is Homer a common name?
We classify Homer as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61,258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Homer most popular?
The single biggest year for Homer was 1920, when 1,734 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Homer is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Homer a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Homer 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.