Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2018

Journey

Meaning From journey at the end of the 20th century Gender Unisex · 91% girls Rank 2025 #411 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

From journey at the end of the 20th century.

Rank 2025
#411
among girls · ↓91 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
836
named Journey · -20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,123
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2018
1,504 babies
All-time total
22,893
#1,038 all-time among girls
First recorded
1981
in Social Security records

Journey popularity over time

22,893 babies have been named Journey since 1981, 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1970s – – – – – –
1980s 62 24 86 9 – #5,931
1990s 566 131 697 70 +710% #953
2000s 3,402 363 3,765 377 +440% #498
2010s 10,903 872 11,775 1,178 +213% #226
2020s (to 2025) 5,949 621 6,570 1,095 -7% #264

Where Journey is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 714 0.44 #434
2027 679 0.42 #454
2028 651 0.40 #474
2029 628 0.39 #482
2030 609 0.38 #488

Where Journey is most popular

Girls named Journey per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.598 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Delaware, and Hawaii.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Journey 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 49 1.87 +213%
Delaware 18 1.59 +165%
Hawaii 18 1.57 +162%
Georgia 318 1.40 +134%
Oklahoma 97 1.32 +120%
Alabama 115 1.22 +105%
Nevada 56 1.21 +101%
Kentucky 103 1.20 +101%
Arkansas 63 1.19 +99%
District of Columbia 14 1.18 +97%
Mississippi 54 1.15 +93%
Indiana 148 1.05 +76%
Maryland 111 1.05 +75%
Louisiana 89 1.02 +70%
North Carolina 222 0.975 +63%
Ohio 228 0.961 +61%
Missouri 115 0.954 +59%
South Carolina 84 0.934 +56%
Tennessee 148 0.934 +56%
Nebraska 33 0.918 +53%
Michigan 162 0.889 +49%
South Dakota 12 0.841 +40%
New Mexico 20 0.822 +37%
Virginia 140 0.821 +37%
Florida 324 0.757 +27%
Iowa 41 0.702 +17%
Kansas 38 0.659 +10%
Pennsylvania 154 0.651 +9%
Illinois 149 0.651 +9%
New York 243 0.614 ≈ national
Connecticut 35 0.602 ≈ national
Oregon 39 0.599 ≈ national
Montana 8 0.591 ≈ national
Minnesota 61 0.565 -6%
Washington 81 0.561 -6%
New Jersey 101 0.560 -6%
Utah 46 0.553 -8%
Wisconsin 56 0.544 -9%
Texas 425 0.528 -12%
Arizona 73 0.520 -13%
Colorado 56 0.502 -16%
Idaho 16 0.478 -20%
California 347 0.413 -31%
Massachusetts 37 0.306 -49%
Alaska – – –
Maine – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Journey

Journey is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #411 in 2025 with 757 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1981, 22,893 American babies have been named Journey, about 91% girls and 9% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2018, when 1,504 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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

How old are people named Journey?

The median living Journey is about 9 years old; half are between 5 and 14. An estimated 23 thousand people named Journey are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

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

Journey 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 757 #411 79 #1,951
2024 961 #320 88 #1,842
2023 933 #332 103 #1,664
2022 1,025 #312 102 #1,685
2021 1,178 #264 124 #1,457
2020 1,095 #292 125 #1,392
2019 1,298 #245 125 #1,410
2018 1,397 #226 107 #1,569
2017 1,167 #276 113 #1,493
2016 1,219 #262 102 #1,600
2015 1,157 #274 68 #2,078
2014 1,126 #288 76 #1,914
2013 960 #335 66 #2,053
2012 958 #327 83 #1,793
2011 867 #371 60 #2,186
2010 754 #419 72 #1,947
2009 613 #498 46 #2,681
2008 527 #591 63 #2,151
2007 422 #690 43 #2,783
2006 331 #821 21 #4,432
2005 343 #772 39 #2,778
2004 259 #930 29 #3,327
2003 265 #900 32 #3,020
2002 239 #936 28 #3,225
2001 235 #941 35 #2,715
2000 168 #1,192 27 #3,182
1995 43 #2,810 13 #4,653
1990 8 #9,648 6 #7,609
1985 – – 7 #5,443
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Journey?

The median living Journey is about 9 years old. Half of all living Journeys are between 5 and 14 years old.

How many people named Journey are alive today?

An estimated 23 thousand people named Journey are alive in the United States, based on 22,893 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Journey mean?

From journey at the end of the 20th century.

How popular is the name Journey in 2025?

Journey ranked #411 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 757 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Journey?

22,893 babies have been named Journey in the United States since 1981, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Journey most popular?

Journey peaked in 2018, when 1,504 newborns received the name.

Is Journey a boy or girl name?

Journey is used for both: about 91% of babies named Journey have been girls and 9% boys.

Is the name Journey rising or falling?

Journey has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Journey become more popular?

Journey is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 609 girls named Journey in 2030, which would rank around #488. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Journey

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

Compare Journey with similar names → More names starting with J →