boys' name ★ peaked 1957

Guy

Meaning A male given name from the Germanic languages Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #1,637 Trend ↓ Falling 23%

A male given name from the Germanic languages.

Rank 2025
#1,637
among boys · ↓80 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
103
named Guy · -8% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,583
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1957
2,311 babies
All-time total
91,102
#335 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Guy popularity over time

91,102 babies have been named Guy 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
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 2,489 2,489 249 – #68
1890s 11 2,487 2,498 250 0% #65
1900s 6 1,913 1,919 192 -23% #99
1910s 64 6,624 6,688 669 +249% #133
1920s 121 9,872 9,993 999 +49% #140
1930s 77 7,564 7,641 764 -24% #172
1940s 61 8,954 9,015 902 +18% #180
1950s 55 19,158 19,213 1,921 +113% #143
1960s 54 15,356 15,410 1,541 -20% #162
1970s 16 6,254 6,270 627 -59% #235
1980s 5 3,635 3,640 364 -42% #396
1990s – 2,386 2,386 239 -34% #558
2000s – 1,730 1,730 173 -27% #801
2010s – 1,509 1,509 151 -13% #1,134
2020s (to 2025) – 701 701 117 -23% #1,362

Where Guy 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 99 0.06 outside top 500
2027 96 0.06 outside top 500
2028 93 0.05 outside top 500
2029 91 0.05 outside top 500
2030 89 0.05 outside top 500

Where Guy is most popular

Boys named Guy per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.066 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, California, and Iowa.

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 Guy 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
Utah 12 0.126 +90%
California 70 0.077 +16%
Iowa 5 0.073 +10%
Ohio 18 0.068 ≈ national
Oregon 5 0.066 ≈ national
New York 27 0.062 -6%
Texas 54 0.061 -7%
Tennessee 9 0.050 -25%
Georgia 12 0.047 -28%
North Carolina 10 0.039 -41%
Florida 16 0.034 -49%
Indiana 5 0.031 -53%
Virginia 5 0.026 -60%
Michigan 5 0.024 -63%
Illinois 5 0.020 -70%
Pennsylvania 5 0.019 -72%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
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 Guy

Guy is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,637 in 2025 with 103 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 91,102 American babies have been named Guy. Its peak came in 1957, when 2,311 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

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

How old are people named Guy?

The median living Guy is about 63 years old; half are between 51 and 70. An estimated 48 thousand people named Guy are alive in the United States today.

median 63 020406080100

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

Guy 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 – – 103 #1,637
2024 – – 112 #1,557
2023 – – 111 #1,569
2022 – – 127 #1,435
2021 – – 118 #1,504
2020 – – 130 #1,362
2019 – – 172 #1,134
2018 – – 139 #1,309
2017 – – 157 #1,188
2016 – – 140 #1,299
2015 – – 155 #1,194
2014 – – 156 #1,187
2013 – – 149 #1,207
2012 – – 142 #1,245
2011 – – 141 #1,237
2010 – – 158 #1,165
2009 – – 146 #1,231
2008 – – 163 #1,123
2007 – – 159 #1,131
2006 – – 186 #996
2005 – – 152 #1,086
2004 – – 168 #988
2003 – – 173 #949
2002 – – 173 #925
2001 – – 209 #803
2000 – – 201 #801
1995 – – 208 #745
1990 – – 323 #566
1985 – – 367 #445
1980 – – 417 #396
1975 – – 531 #330
1970 6 #7,375 1,009 #235
1965 7 #5,475 1,359 #187
1960 7 #5,358 1,949 #168
1955 5 #6,179 2,041 #145
1950 5 #5,596 1,237 #179
1945 5 #4,826 759 #195
1940 5 #4,623 716 #192
1935 – – 768 #177
1930 12 #2,597 827 #174
1925 13 #2,681 978 #157
1920 10 #3,201 957 #154
1915 10 #2,792 816 #145
1910 – – 250 #133
1905 – – 203 #105
1900 6 #1,820 240 #99
1895 – – 261 #76
1890 6 #1,267 249 #72
1885 – – 266 #68
1880 – – 239 #68

Famous people named Guy

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

  1. 1 Guy Ritchie Guy Ritchie English filmmaker (born 1968) Contemporary
  2. 2 Guy Pearce Guy Pearce Australian actor (born 1967) Contemporary
  3. 3 Guy of Lusignan Guy of Lusignan King of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 1150–1194 · Medieval
  4. 4 Guy Williams Guy Williams American actor (1924–1989) Contemporary
  5. 5 Guy Burgess Guy Burgess British diplomat and Soviet agent (1911–1963) Contemporary
  6. 6 Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant French writer (1850–1893) 19th century
  7. 7 Guy Madison Guy Madison American actor (1922–1996) Contemporary
  8. 8 Guy Parmelin Guy Parmelin Swiss Federal Councillor since 2016 b. 1959 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Guy Lafleur Guy Lafleur Canadian ice hockey player (1951–2022) Contemporary
  10. 10 Guy Debord Guy Debord French philosopher and Marxist theorist (1931–1994) Contemporary
  11. 11 Guy Ecker Guy Ecker American actor b. 1959 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Guy Hamilton Guy Hamilton English film director (1922–2016) Contemporary
  13. 13 Guy Laliberté Guy Laliberté Canadian businessman (born 1959) Contemporary
  14. 14 Guy III of Spoleto Guy III of Spoleto Emperor in Italy from 891 to 894 900–894 · Medieval
  15. 15 Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester British Army officer and colonial administrator (1724–1808) 18th century
  16. 16 Guy Verhofstadt Guy Verhofstadt Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008 b. 1953 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Guy Kawasaki Guy Kawasaki American businessman and author (born 1954) Contemporary
  18. 18 Guy Laroche Fashion designer, France 1921–1989 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Guy Mollet Guy Mollet French politician (1905–1975) Contemporary
  20. 20 Guy Edwards Guy Edwards British racing driver (1942–2026) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Guy?

The median living Guy is about 63 years old. Half of all living Guys are between 51 and 70 years old.

How many people named Guy are alive today?

An estimated 48 thousand people named Guy are alive in the United States, based on 91,102 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Guy mean?

A male given name from the Germanic languages.

How popular is the name Guy in 2025?

Guy ranked #1,637 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 103 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Guy?

91,102 babies have been named Guy in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Guy most popular?

Guy peaked in 1957, when 2,311 newborns received the name.

Is Guy a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Guy rising or falling?

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

Will Guy become more popular?

Guy is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 89 boys named Guy 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 Guy?

Well-known people named Guy include Guy Ritchie (film director), Guy Pearce (actor), Guy of Lusignan (politician).

Names like Guy

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

Compare Guy with similar names → More names starting with G →