Unisex name ★ peaked 2000

Hunter

Meaning A male given name transferred from the surname Gender Unisex · 5% girls Rank 2025 #130 Trend ↓ Falling 44%

A male given name transferred from the surname.

Rank 2025
#130
among boys · ↓2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,084
named Hunter · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 619
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2000
13,252 babies
All-time total
276,622
#144 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Hunter popularity over time

276,622 babies have been named Hunter 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 84 84 8 – #493
1890s – 101 101 10 +20% #543
1900s 6 125 131 13 +30% #550
1910s – 419 419 42 +220% #768
1920s 5 576 581 58 +39% #808
1930s – 393 393 39 -32% #898
1940s – 470 470 47 +20% #839
1950s 5 576 581 58 +24% #892
1960s 5 764 769 77 +32% #766
1970s 48 1,215 1,263 126 +64% #611
1980s 184 5,871 6,055 606 +379% #226
1990s 5,613 60,524 66,137 6,614 +992% #36
2000s 3,570 94,860 98,430 9,843 +49% #35
2010s 2,938 74,919 77,857 7,786 -21% #36
2020s (to 2025) 2,010 21,341 23,351 3,892 -50% #68

Where Hunter 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 2,507 1.47 #142
2027 2,310 1.35 #160
2028 2,155 1.26 #170
2029 2,031 1.19 #180
2030 1,931 1.13 #189

Where Hunter is most popular

Boys named Hunter per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.92 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Alaska, and Rhode Island.

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 Hunter 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
Wyoming 39 6.74 +252%
Alaska 70 5.88 +207%
Rhode Island 83 5.09 +166%
West Virginia 158 4.84 +152%
Hawaii 72 4.64 +142%
Vermont 29 4.62 +141%
New Hampshire 99 4.46 +133%
Maine 78 4.02 +110%
Delaware 58 3.83 +100%
Kentucky 358 3.57 +86%
North Dakota 60 3.51 +83%
Montana 56 3.18 +66%
Mississippi 179 3.15 +64%
Oregon 235 3.10 +62%
Connecticut 209 3.09 +61%
New Mexico 98 2.97 +55%
South Carolina 307 2.97 +55%
Missouri 408 2.94 +54%
Massachusetts 404 2.94 +53%
Oklahoma 257 2.91 +52%
Kansas 197 2.87 +50%
Idaho 116 2.83 +48%
South Dakota 52 2.79 +46%
Alabama 305 2.79 +46%
Nevada 159 2.79 +46%
Arkansas 175 2.77 +44%
Pennsylvania 734 2.76 +44%
Nebraska 116 2.67 +39%
Indiana 425 2.65 +38%
Tennessee 474 2.63 +37%
Michigan 534 2.61 +36%
Washington 408 2.49 +30%
Ohio 657 2.48 +29%
Utah 224 2.35 +22%
Arizona 378 2.31 +21%
New York 998 2.30 +20%
North Carolina 564 2.21 +15%
Maryland 263 2.21 +15%
Virginia 417 2.20 +15%
New Jersey 437 2.17 +13%
Minnesota 262 2.14 +11%
Georgia 539 2.13 +11%
Iowa 146 2.12 +10%
Colorado 272 2.11 +10%
Louisiana 212 2.07 +8%
Wisconsin 237 2.00 ≈ national
Illinois 461 1.80 -6%
Florida 852 1.80 -6%
California 1,433 1.57 -18%
Texas 1,209 1.37 -28%
District of Columbia 11 0.745 -61%

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 Hunter

Hunter is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #130 in 2025 with 2,761 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 276,622 American babies have been named Hunter, about 95% boys and 5% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2000, when 13,252 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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

How old are people named Hunter?

The median living Hunter is about 20 years old; half are between 11 and 26. An estimated 270 thousand people named Hunter are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

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

Hunter 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 323 #842 2,761 #130
2024 307 #881 2,852 #128
2023 347 #806 3,131 #115
2022 364 #782 3,605 #101
2021 340 #818 4,206 #86
2020 329 #832 4,786 #68
2019 311 #862 5,398 #66
2018 329 #825 6,117 #56
2017 384 #737 6,760 #53
2016 338 #842 7,681 #45
2015 356 #793 8,367 #41
2014 364 #769 8,841 #40
2013 273 #931 8,988 #36
2012 208 #1,182 8,053 #45
2011 197 #1,219 7,380 #55
2010 178 #1,321 7,334 #58
2009 186 #1,301 7,751 #56
2008 200 #1,257 8,045 #54
2007 212 #1,195 8,218 #57
2006 244 #1,052 8,574 #54
2005 236 #1,028 8,512 #53
2004 354 #742 8,902 #49
2003 324 #767 9,900 #41
2002 472 #561 11,085 #38
2001 628 #441 11,335 #36
2000 714 #402 12,538 #35
1995 774 #342 6,715 #53
1990 37 #3,039 1,391 #219
1985 20 #4,029 567 #336
1980 9 #6,985 242 #548
1975 – – 109 #797
1970 – – 113 #777
1965 – – 67 #906
1960 – – 71 #901
1955 – – 55 #1,019
1950 – – 49 #994
1945 – – 49 #922
1940 – – 36 #1,100
1935 – – 44 #958
1930 – – 40 #1,099
1925 – – 35 #1,212
1920 – – 69 #808
1915 – – 50 #873
1910 – – 16 #768
1905 – – 14 #650
1900 – – 12 #761
1895 – – 7 #931
1890 – – 8 #782
1885 – – 10 #621
1880 – – 12 #545

Famous people named Hunter

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

  1. 1 Hunter S. Thompson Hunter S. Thompson American journalist and author (1937–2005) Contemporary
  2. 2 Hunter Biden Hunter Biden American businessman and lobbyist (born 1970) Contemporary
  3. 3 Hunter Parrish Hunter Parrish American actor and singer (born 1987) Contemporary
  4. 4 Hunter Hayes Hunter Hayes American singer-songwriter and record producer b. 1991 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Hunter Tylo Hunter Tylo American actress and writer (born 1962) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Hunter?

The median living Hunter is about 20 years old. Half of all living Hunters are between 11 and 26 years old.

How many people named Hunter are alive today?

An estimated 270 thousand people named Hunter are alive in the United States, based on 276,622 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Hunter mean?

A male given name transferred from the surname.

How popular is the name Hunter in 2025?

Hunter ranked #130 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,761 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Hunter?

276,622 babies have been named Hunter in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Hunter most popular?

Hunter peaked in 2000, when 13,252 newborns received the name.

Is Hunter a boy or girl name?

Hunter is used for both: about 5% of babies named Hunter have been girls and 95% boys.

Is the name Hunter rising or falling?

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

Will Hunter become more popular?

Hunter is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,931 boys named Hunter in 2030, which would rank around #189. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Hunter?

Well-known people named Hunter include Hunter S. Thompson (writer), Hunter Biden (politician), Hunter Parrish (actor).

Names like Hunter

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

Compare Hunter with similar names → More names starting with H →