Top Baby Names

Origin and Meaning of First Names.

James

Gender

Male

Origin

Hebrew
Supplanter
Supplanter, heel-grabber
English

Syllables

1

Themes

  • Biblical
  • Exotic
  • Presidential
  • Surname

Alternate Spellings and Variants of James

Pronunciation

j(a)-mes

Famous People

Poet James Joyce, President Jimmy Carter, actor Jimmy Stewart, actor James Caan

Celebrity Babies

Son of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Son of Art Garfunkel, Son of Jon Voight, Son of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger, Son of Rosie Pope

Popularity in the USA

  • Boys: peak in 1947 (rank #1, 94,763 births); most recent 2025 (rank #6, 11,945 births)
  • Girls: peak in 1928 (rank #319, 427 births); most recent 2025 (rank #2859, 59 births)
Births by year in the USA
YearBoysGirls
202511,94559
202411,79368
202311,72779
202212,10985
202112,46468
202012,38166
201913,19368
201813,64245
201714,35777
201614,91667

Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data

Popularity in England and Wales

  • Boys: peak in 1997 (rank #2, 9,853 births); most recent 2025 (rank #42, 1,211 births)
  • Girls: peak in 2020 (rank #5492, 3 births)
Births by year in England and Wales
YearBoysGirls
20251,211–
20241,252–
20231,430–
20221,534–
20211,772–
20201,9773
20192,336–
20182,536–
20172,925–
20163,5803

Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in France

  • Boys: peak in 2021 (rank #184, 393 births); most recent 2023 (rank #172, 373 births)
  • Girls: peak in 2005 (rank #4158, 4 births)
Births by year in France
YearBoysGirls
2023373–
2022365–
2021393–
2020381–
2019361–
2018377–
2017317–
2016328–
2015339–
2014277–

Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Ireland

  • Boys: peak in 1964 (rank #5, 1,554 births); most recent 2025 (rank #4, 359 births)
Births by year in Ireland
YearBoys
2025359
2024336
2023369
2022412
2021442
2020495
2019534
2018589
2017619
2016688

Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)

Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Scotland

  • Boys: peak in 1974 (rank #5, 1,202 births); most recent 2025 (rank #14, 199 births)
Births by year in Scotland
YearBoys
2025199
2024203
2023223
2022243
2021252
2020292
2019345
2018323
2017368
2016421

Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)

Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Northern Ireland

  • Boys: peak in 1999 (rank #3, 352 births); most recent 2025 (rank #3, 135 births)
Births by year in Northern Ireland
YearBoys
2025135
2024143
2023131
2022175
2021173
2020190
2019231
2018217
2017243
2016254

Top girl names · Top boy names in Northern Ireland (2025)

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Baby Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1997 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)

  • Boys: peak in 1955 (rank #4, 545 births); most recent 2023 (rank #14, 94 births)
Births by year in British Columbia (Canada)
YearBoys
202394
2022131
2021123
2020142
2019125
2018177
2017197
2016191
2015165
2014166

Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)

Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence