Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Blue

Gender Unisex · 35% girls Rank 2025 #2,648 Trend ↑ Rising 38%

From the German surname, Americanized from Blau or its French cognate bleu.

Rank 2025
#2,648
among boys · ↓46 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
78
named Blue · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 34,859
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2021
89 babies
All-time total
1,453
#5,298 all-time among boys
First recorded
1968
in Social Security records

Blue popularity over time

1,453 babies have been named Blue since 1968, 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
0.010.020.030.0418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – 24 24 2 – #2,429
1970s 5 108 113 11 +371% #2,548
1980s – 40 40 4 -65% #4,990
1990s 65 105 170 17 +325% #4,033
2000s 65 160 225 23 +32% #3,551
2010s 163 235 398 40 +77% #3,268
2020s (to 2025) 205 278 483 81 +102% #2,602

Where Blue 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 52 0.03 outside top 500
2027 55 0.03 outside top 500
2028 57 0.03 outside top 500
2029 59 0.03 outside top 500
2030 61 0.04 outside top 500

Where Blue is most popular

Boys named Blue per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.027 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and Florida.

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 Blue 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
California 42 0.046 +68%
Texas 30 0.034 +25%
Florida 12 0.025 -7%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Blue

Blue is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #2,648 in 2025 with 49 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1968, 1,453 American babies have been named Blue, about 65% boys and 35% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 89 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Blue stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Blue?

The median living Blue is about 10 years old; half are between 4 and 25. An estimated 1,400 people named Blue are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

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

Blue 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 29 #4,676 49 #2,648
2024 32 #4,403 51 #2,602
2023 32 #4,378 42 #2,958
2022 37 #3,981 48 #2,723
2021 43 #3,556 46 #2,734
2020 32 #4,280 42 #2,852
2019 19 #6,210 35 #3,268
2018 23 #5,482 31 #3,543
2017 19 #6,332 29 #3,688
2016 16 #7,311 23 #4,341
2015 20 #6,278 32 #3,441
2014 20 #6,242 17 #5,277
2013 21 #6,051 20 #4,640
2012 10 #10,565 22 #4,411
2011 7 #13,595 11 #7,070
2010 8 #12,468 15 #5,769
2009 5 #17,744 11 #7,280
2008 9 #11,749 18 #5,085
2007 6 #15,803 14 #5,947
2006 8 #12,604 20 #4,537
2005 14 #7,961 16 #5,067
2004 7 #12,972 17 #4,820
2003 – – 16 #4,844
2002 6 #13,857 13 #5,430
2001 – – 12 #5,710
2000 10 #9,266 23 #3,551
1995 13 #6,694 14 #4,306
1990 – – – –
1985 – – – –
1980 – – 7 #4,990
1975 – – 16 #2,548
1970 – – 10 #3,092
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Blue

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

  1. 1 Blue Mitchell Blue Mitchell American trumpeter and composer (1930–1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Blue?

The median living Blue is about 10 years old. Half of all living Blues are between 4 and 25 years old.

How many people named Blue are alive today?

An estimated 1,400 people named Blue are alive in the United States, based on 1,453 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Blue mean?

From the German surname, Americanized from Blau or its French cognate bleu.

How popular is the name Blue in 2025?

Blue ranked #2,648 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 49 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Blue?

1,453 babies have been named Blue in the United States since 1968, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Blue most popular?

Blue peaked in 2021, when 89 newborns received the name.

Is Blue a boy or girl name?

Blue is used for both: about 35% of babies named Blue have been girls and 65% boys.

Is the name Blue rising or falling?

Blue is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Blue become more popular?

Blue is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 61 boys named Blue in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Blue?

Well-known people named Blue include Blue Mitchell (musician).

Names like Blue

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

Compare Blue with similar names → More names starting with B →