Queen
A feminine name derived from the English word meaning "female ruler or sovereign".
Name Census estimates that about 7,166 living Americans carry the first name Queen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Queen today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Queen births was 2018 (282 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Queen. 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
7.2K
~ 1 in 47,831 Americans
Peak year
2018
282 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1949 SSA rank
#1,986
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Queen
Out of the 16,038 babies given the name Queen since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Queen as a male name
- Ranked #4,088 in 1949
- 5 male births in 1949
- Peak: 1935 (9 births)
Queen as a female name
- Ranked #1,986 in 2024
- 99 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (282 births)
Popularity
Queen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Queen 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 2,444 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Queen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Queen 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 Queen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Queens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Queen, while Washington, Minnesota, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 406 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Queen
The given name Queen has its origins in English, derived from the word "queen" which itself traces back to the Old English "cwen". This word is of Germanic origin, related to the Old Norse "kvan" and the Gothic "qens". The root likely meant "woman" or "wife" in Proto-Germanic.
The name Queen gained popularity in the Middle Ages, particularly after the rise of powerful female rulers in England and other European monarchies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122-1204), one of the most influential figures of the High Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, the name became closely associated with Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), the last Tudor monarch of England and one of the most celebrated rulers in British history. Her reign ushered in a golden age of literature, exploration, and cultural achievements.
Another notable bearer of the name was Queen Anne (1665-1714), the last monarch of the House of Stuart, whose reign saw the Acts of Union in 1707 that united the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Moving into the 19th century, Queen Victoria (1819-1901) stands out as one of the most famous bearers of the name. Her reign as Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India spanned over six decades, a period known as the Victorian era, which saw the British Empire reach its greatest territorial extent.
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Queen Mab, a fairy queen character mentioned in several works by William Shakespeare and other writers of the Renaissance era. Her name became a popular literary reference and has been used as a title for various creative works over the centuries.
While the name Queen has been used primarily in the context of royalty and nobility, it has also been adopted as a given name in its own right, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its regal connotations and associations with power and authority have made it a distinctive and evocative choice for many parents throughout history.
People
Queen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Queen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Queen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Queen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Queen 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 47,831 US residents.
Is Queen a common name?
We classify Queen as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,038 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Queen most popular?
The single biggest year for Queen was 2018, when 282 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Queen is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Queen a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Queen 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.