boys' name ★ peaked 1989

Aaron

Meaning bearer of martyrs Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #80 Trend ↓ Falling 20%

From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead…

Rank 2025
#80
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,058
named Aaron · -5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 423
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1989
15,407 babies
All-time total
618,857
#53 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Aaron popularity over time

618,857 babies have been named Aaron since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 910 910 91 – #121
1890s – 830 830 83 -9% #147
1900s – 1,050 1,050 105 +27% #162
1910s 22 4,570 4,592 459 +337% #166
1920s 45 6,177 6,222 622 +35% #196
1930s 30 4,727 4,757 476 -24% #233
1940s 44 5,940 5,984 598 +26% #227
1950s 88 11,141 11,229 1,123 +88% #191
1960s 215 26,070 26,285 2,629 +134% #61
1970s 1,082 101,487 102,569 10,257 +290% #30
1980s 1,431 138,357 139,788 13,979 +36% #29
1990s 832 128,377 129,209 12,921 -8% #28
2000s 342 86,992 87,334 8,733 -32% #41
2010s 198 70,488 70,686 7,069 -19% #47
2020s (to 2025) 66 27,346 27,412 4,569 -35% #63

Where Aaron is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 3,887 2.28 #85
2027 3,761 2.20 #94
2028 3,657 2.14 #96
2029 3,571 2.09 #99
2030 3,499 2.05 #102

Where Aaron is most popular

Boys named Aaron per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.58 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, New Jersey, and California.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Aaron born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Delaware 73 4.81 +87%
New Jersey 916 4.55 +77%
California 3,991 4.37 +70%
Nevada 244 4.28 +66%
Florida 2,003 4.23 +64%
New York 1,648 3.81 +48%
Maryland 437 3.66 +42%
Texas 3,224 3.66 +42%
Rhode Island 57 3.50 +36%
New Mexico 110 3.34 +30%
District of Columbia 49 3.32 +29%
Connecticut 200 2.95 +15%
Arizona 453 2.77 +7%
Virginia 514 2.71 +5%
Georgia 672 2.65 ≈ national
Washington 433 2.65 ≈ national
Illinois 656 2.57 ≈ national
Oklahoma 224 2.53 ≈ national
Massachusetts 344 2.50 ≈ national
Nebraska 108 2.48 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 657 2.47 ≈ national
Hawaii 38 2.45 -5%
Alaska 29 2.44 -5%
Colorado 312 2.42 -6%
Utah 228 2.39 -7%
Tennessee 431 2.39 -7%
Kentucky 235 2.34 -9%
North Carolina 584 2.29 -11%
Indiana 340 2.12 -18%
South Carolina 219 2.12 -18%
Kansas 145 2.11 -18%
Arkansas 129 2.04 -21%
Louisiana 205 2.00 -22%
Oregon 151 1.99 -23%
Iowa 136 1.97 -23%
Ohio 497 1.88 -27%
Wisconsin 218 1.84 -29%
Missouri 250 1.80 -30%
Idaho 72 1.76 -32%
Alabama 188 1.72 -33%
Michigan 343 1.67 -35%
Vermont 10 1.59 -38%
Mississippi 89 1.57 -39%
Minnesota 188 1.53 -40%
New Hampshire 32 1.44 -44%
South Dakota 20 1.07 -58%
West Virginia 34 1.04 -60%
North Dakota 15 0.879 -66%
Wyoming 5 0.864 -66%
Montana 15 0.851 -67%
Maine 13 0.670 -74%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Aaron

Aaron is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #80 in 2025 with 4,041 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 618,857 American babies have been named Aaron. Its peak came in 1989, when 15,407 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Aaron stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Aaron?

The median living Aaron is about 34 years old; half are between 21 and 44. An estimated 571 thousand people named Aaron are alive in the United States today.

median 34 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Aaron year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 17 #6,546 4,041 #80
2024 7 #12,167 4,245 #79
2023 6 #13,467 4,577 #68
2022 11 #9,059 4,527 #71
2021 16 #6,969 4,856 #65
2020 9 #10,254 5,100 #63
2019 20 #5,987 5,548 #61
2018 15 #7,410 5,996 #60
2017 20 #6,046 7,219 #47
2016 23 #5,624 7,178 #49
2015 20 #6,236 7,177 #52
2014 24 #5,458 7,412 #50
2013 11 #9,613 7,319 #51
2012 21 #6,111 7,545 #51
2011 21 #6,148 7,624 #51
2010 23 #5,772 7,470 #55
2009 32 #4,571 7,983 #54
2008 29 #5,013 8,545 #50
2007 23 #5,895 8,948 #51
2006 24 #5,545 8,310 #57
2005 25 #5,113 7,811 #57
2004 57 #2,808 8,400 #53
2003 38 #3,655 8,874 #50
2002 42 #3,283 9,008 #43
2001 37 #3,549 9,552 #42
2000 35 #3,664 9,561 #41
1995 85 #1,715 13,291 #30
1990 84 #1,733 14,557 #34
1985 139 #1,060 13,137 #33
1980 173 #884 13,166 #34
1975 122 #998 10,548 #32
1970 70 #1,452 6,584 #52
1965 28 #2,247 2,411 #130
1960 20 #2,729 1,768 #178
1955 11 #3,571 1,099 #217
1950 7 #4,315 798 #230
1945 – – 484 #270
1940 – – 514 #234
1935 5 #4,204 460 #251
1930 6 #4,047 499 #252
1925 11 #2,939 644 #215
1920 – – 668 #199
1915 – – 553 #198
1910 – – 145 #187
1905 – – 96 #188
1900 – – 104 #193
1895 – – 94 #166
1890 – – 96 #147
1885 – – 88 #153
1880 – – 102 #131

Famous people named Aaron

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Aaron Rodgers Aaron Rodgers American football player (born 1983) Contemporary
  2. 2 Aaron Taylor-Johnson Aaron Taylor-Johnson English actor (born 1990) Contemporary
  3. 3 Aaron Hernandez Aaron Hernandez American football player and murderer (1989–2017) Contemporary
  4. 4 Aaron Paul Aaron Paul American actor (born 1979) Contemporary
  5. 5 Aaron Carter Aaron Carter American singer (1987–2022) Contemporary
  6. 6 Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Vice President of the United States from 1801 to 1805 1756–1836 · 18th century
  7. 7 Aaron Eckhart Aaron Eckhart American actor (born 1968) Contemporary
  8. 8 Aaron Ashmore Aaron Ashmore Canadian actor (born 1979) Contemporary
  9. 9 Aaron Sorkin Writer, United States b. 1961 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Aaron Wan-Bissaka Aaron Wan-Bissaka DR Congolese footballer (born 1997) Contemporary
  11. 11 Aaron Swartz Aaron Swartz American computer programmer and activist (1986–2013) Contemporary
  12. 12 Aaron Norris Film director, United States b. 1951 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling American film and television producer (1923–2006) Contemporary
  14. 14 Aaron Neville Aaron Neville American singer (born 1941) Contemporary
  15. 15 Aaron Aaron Prophet in the Abrahamic faiths -1396–-1274 · Antiquity
  16. 16 Aaron Copland Aaron Copland American composer and conductor (1900–1990) Contemporary
  17. 17 Aaron Stanford Aaron Stanford American actor (born 1976) Contemporary
  18. 18 Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Hong Kong singer and actor b. 1965 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Aaron Lennon Aaron Lennon English footballer (born 1987) Contemporary
  20. 20 Aaron Yoo Aaron Yoo American actor (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Aaron, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Aaron?

The median living Aaron is about 34 years old. Half of all living Aarons are between 21 and 44 years old.

How many people named Aaron are alive today?

An estimated 571 thousand people named Aaron are alive in the United States, based on 618,857 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Aaron mean?

From Latin Aaron, from Ancient Greek Ἀαρών (Aarṓn), from Hebrew אַהֲרֹן (ʾAhărōn), of unknown meaning, possibly meaning “bearer of martyrs”, or perhaps also, or instead, related to the Ancient Egyptian ꜥḥꜣ rw (“warrior lion”),…

How popular is the name Aaron in 2025?

Aaron ranked #80 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,041 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Aaron?

618,857 babies have been named Aaron in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Aaron most popular?

Aaron peaked in 1989, when 15,407 newborns received the name.

Is Aaron a boy or girl name?

Aaron is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Aaron rising or falling?

Aaron is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Aaron become more popular?

Aaron is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,499 boys named Aaron in 2030, which would rank around #102. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Aaron?

Well-known people named Aaron include Aaron Rodgers (american football player), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (actor), Aaron Hernandez (american football player).

Names like Aaron

Names that sound and feel close to Aaron: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Aaron with similar names → More names starting with A →