Unisex name ★ peaked 1984

Kirby

Meaning church Gender Unisex · 21% girls Rank 2025 #3,278 Trend → Stable

Originally Kirkby, from kirk (“church”) +‎ -by (“habitation”), "village with a church".

Rank 2025
#3,278
among boys · ↓695 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
101
named Kirby · -17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 47,447
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1984
509 babies
All-time total
18,495
#987 all-time among boys
First recorded
1881
in Social Security records

Kirby popularity over time

18,495 babies have been named Kirby since 1881, 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
0.060.130.190.2518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – 56 56 6 – #512
1890s – 93 93 9 +66% #582
1900s – 88 88 9 -5% #716
1910s 8 403 411 41 +367% #779
1920s 11 620 631 63 +54% #728
1930s 15 731 746 75 +18% #585
1940s 101 1,509 1,610 161 +116% #460
1950s 121 3,009 3,130 313 +94% #398
1960s 108 2,351 2,459 246 -21% #434
1970s 85 1,589 1,674 167 -32% #476
1980s 1,464 1,338 2,802 280 +67% #688
1990s 1,113 1,408 2,521 252 -10% #743
2000s 275 596 871 87 -65% #1,491
2010s 309 471 780 78 -10% #2,377
2020s (to 2025) 353 270 623 104 +33% #2,489

Where Kirby 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 36 0.02 outside top 500
2027 35 0.02 outside top 500
2028 35 0.02 outside top 500
2029 35 0.02 outside top 500
2030 35 0.02 outside top 500

Where Kirby is most popular

Boys named Kirby per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.025 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Texas, 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 Kirby 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
Minnesota 5 0.041 +61%
Texas 12 0.014 -46%
California 5 0.005 -78%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
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 Kirby

Kirby is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #3,278 in 2025 with 36 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1881, 18,495 American babies have been named Kirby, about 79% boys and 21% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1984, when 509 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 Kirby stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kirby?

The median living Kirby is about 43 years old; half are between 32 and 64. An estimated 14 thousand people named Kirby are alive in the United States today.

median 43 020406080100

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

Kirby 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 65 #2,671 36 #3,278
2024 70 #2,545 52 #2,583
2023 55 #3,036 47 #2,758
2022 62 #2,770 44 #2,896
2021 62 #2,771 39 #3,098
2020 39 #3,751 52 #2,489
2019 34 #4,215 43 #2,881
2018 46 #3,420 51 #2,532
2017 33 #4,340 45 #2,740
2016 31 #4,588 44 #2,746
2015 28 #4,924 55 #2,377
2014 31 #4,608 40 #2,912
2013 27 #5,075 44 #2,690
2012 30 #4,779 48 #2,575
2011 25 #5,462 51 #2,461
2010 24 #5,713 50 #2,492
2009 25 #5,639 47 #2,643
2008 17 #7,586 49 #2,566
2007 20 #6,701 64 #2,128
2006 22 #6,031 53 #2,366
2005 22 #5,698 50 #2,350
2004 23 #5,465 60 #2,010
2003 27 #4,744 54 #2,092
2002 28 #4,449 64 #1,802
2001 41 #3,344 82 #1,491
2000 50 #2,881 73 #1,622
1995 97 #1,571 129 #979
1990 162 #1,090 167 #785
1985 225 #760 127 #791
1980 6 #9,672 104 #875
1975 7 #7,535 145 #688
1970 9 #5,598 148 #677
1965 12 #3,836 212 #527
1960 14 #3,442 345 #434
1955 5 #6,289 271 #450
1950 10 #3,556 226 #442
1945 9 #3,268 106 #587
1940 12 #2,495 102 #587
1935 – – 68 #745
1930 – – 66 #799
1925 5 #5,400 48 #992
1920 – – 60 #892
1915 – – 59 #786
1910 – – 13 #903
1905 – – 8 #967
1900 – – 13 #716
1895 – – 8 #837
1890 – – 12 #582
1885 – – 14 #512
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kirby

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

  1. 1 Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett American baseball player (1960–2006) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Kirby?

The median living Kirby is about 43 years old. Half of all living Kirbys are between 32 and 64 years old.

How many people named Kirby are alive today?

An estimated 14 thousand people named Kirby are alive in the United States, based on 18,495 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kirby mean?

Originally Kirkby, from kirk (“church”) +‎ -by (“habitation”), "village with a church".

How popular is the name Kirby in 2025?

Kirby ranked #3,278 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 36 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kirby?

18,495 babies have been named Kirby in the United States since 1881, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kirby most popular?

Kirby peaked in 1984, when 509 newborns received the name.

Is Kirby a boy or girl name?

Kirby is used for both: about 21% of babies named Kirby have been girls and 79% boys.

Is the name Kirby rising or falling?

Kirby has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Kirby become more popular?

Kirby looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 35 boys named Kirby in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kirby?

Well-known people named Kirby include Kirby Puckett (baseball player).

Names like Kirby

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

Compare Kirby with similar names → More names starting with K →