boys' name ★ peaked 2024

Liam

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1 Trend ↑ Rising 10%

From Irish Liam, a clipping of Uilliam, itself from English William.

Rank 2025
#1
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
20,846
named Liam · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 82
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2024
22,288 babies
All-time total
359,085
#97 all-time among boys
First recorded
1947
in Social Security records

Liam popularity over time

359,085 babies have been named Liam since 1947, 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
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 5 5 1 – #4,046
1950s – 117 117 12 +2240% #1,503
1960s – 400 400 40 +242% #939
1970s – 784 784 78 +96% #804
1980s – 1,527 1,527 153 +95% #669
1990s 15 11,904 11,919 1,192 +681% #141
2000s 107 44,940 45,047 4,505 +278% #49
2010s 244 174,017 174,261 17,426 +287% #1
2020s (to 2025) 183 124,842 125,025 20,838 +20% #1

Where Liam 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 21,134 12.4 #1
2027 21,406 12.5 #1
2028 21,641 12.7 #1
2029 21,842 12.8 #1
2030 22,014 12.9 #1

Where Liam is most popular

Boys named Liam per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 12.2 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Delaware, and Maryland.

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 Liam 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
Rhode Island 358 22.0 +81%
Delaware 306 20.2 +66%
Maryland 2,240 18.8 +55%
Florida 8,797 18.6 +53%
New Jersey 3,734 18.5 +53%
District of Columbia 272 18.4 +52%
Connecticut 1,231 18.2 +50%
Nevada 990 17.4 +43%
New Mexico 570 17.3 +42%
New York 7,175 16.6 +36%
Wyoming 95 16.4 +35%
Alaska 195 16.4 +35%
Virginia 2,992 15.8 +30%
Massachusetts 2,165 15.7 +30%
Texas 13,525 15.4 +26%
Hawaii 237 15.3 +26%
Vermont 92 14.6 +21%
Colorado 1,863 14.4 +19%
New Hampshire 318 14.3 +18%
California 13,056 14.3 +18%
Arizona 2,306 14.1 +16%
North Carolina 3,504 13.7 +13%
Nebraska 578 13.3 +9%
Utah 1,266 13.3 +9%
Oklahoma 1,161 13.1 +8%
Kentucky 1,304 13.0 +7%
North Dakota 221 12.9 +7%
South Dakota 240 12.9 +6%
South Carolina 1,333 12.9 +6%
Illinois 3,293 12.9 +6%
Georgia 3,259 12.9 +6%
Idaho 526 12.9 +6%
Oregon 972 12.8 +5%
Arkansas 800 12.6 ≈ national
Indiana 2,024 12.6 ≈ national
Louisiana 1,284 12.6 ≈ national
Tennessee 2,258 12.5 ≈ national
Washington 2,038 12.5 ≈ national
Iowa 850 12.3 ≈ national
Kansas 845 12.3 ≈ national
Wisconsin 1,426 12.0 ≈ national
West Virginia 392 12.0 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 3,140 11.8 ≈ national
Minnesota 1,419 11.6 -5%
Montana 202 11.5 -6%
Alabama 1,223 11.2 -8%
Maine 213 11.0 -10%
Missouri 1,456 10.5 -14%
Ohio 2,736 10.3 -15%
Mississippi 544 9.58 -21%
Michigan 1,953 9.54 -22%

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 Liam

Liam is a top-10 name for boys in the United States, ranked #1 in 2025 with 20,818 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1947, 359,085 American babies have been named Liam. Its peak came in 2024, when 22,288 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 Liam stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Liam?

The median living Liam is about 8 years old; half are between 4 and 13. An estimated 356 thousand people named Liam are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

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

Liam 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 28 #4,829 20,818 #1
2024 36 #4,087 22,252 #1
2023 30 #4,617 20,904 #1
2022 26 #5,106 20,579 #1
2021 30 #4,567 20,424 #1
2020 33 #4,231 19,865 #1
2019 30 #4,613 20,631 #1
2018 24 #5,399 19,977 #1
2017 38 #3,960 18,874 #1
2016 19 #6,573 18,277 #2
2015 21 #6,153 18,410 #2
2014 32 #4,512 18,488 #2
2013 22 #5,936 18,153 #3
2012 23 #5,813 16,824 #6
2011 13 #8,942 13,450 #15
2010 22 #6,085 10,933 #30
2009 21 #6,454 8,567 #49
2008 11 #10,490 5,982 #75
2007 11 #10,539 5,141 #89
2006 11 #10,322 4,514 #98
2005 9 #11,447 4,152 #104
2004 15 #7,659 3,827 #112
2003 17 #6,775 3,565 #114
2002 – – 3,382 #113
2001 – – 3,029 #131
2000 12 #8,332 2,781 #140
1995 7 #11,222 1,206 #239
1990 – – 277 #605
1985 – – 150 #722
1980 – – 114 #826
1975 – – 82 #910
1970 – – 49 #1,188
1965 – – 36 #1,286
1960 – – 24 #1,674
1955 – – 12 #2,383
1950 – – 10 #2,518
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Liam

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

  1. 1 Liam Neeson Liam Neeson Actor from Northern Ireland (born 1952) Contemporary
  2. 2 Liam Rosenior Liam Rosenior English football manager (born 1984) Contemporary
  3. 3 Liam Payne Liam Payne English singer and songwriter (1993–2024) Contemporary
  4. 4 Liam Hemsworth Liam Hemsworth Australian actor (born 1990) Contemporary
  5. 5 Liam Gallagher Liam Gallagher English singer-songwriter (born 1972) Contemporary
  6. 6 Liam Cunningham Liam Cunningham Irish actor (born 1961) Contemporary
  7. 7 Liam McIntyre Liam McIntyre Australian actor (born 1982) Contemporary
  8. 8 Liam Aiken Liam Aiken American actor (born 1990) Contemporary
  9. 9 Liam Miller Liam Miller Irish footballer (1981–2018) Contemporary
  10. 10 Liam Cooper Liam Cooper Scotland international footballer (born 1991) Contemporary
  11. 11 Liam James Canadian actor (born 1996) Contemporary
  12. 12 Liam Henderson Liam Henderson Scottish footballer (born 1996) Contemporary
  13. 13 Liam Finn Liam Finn New Zealand musician (born 1983) Contemporary
  14. 14 Liam Fox Liam Fox British politician (born 1961) Contemporary
  15. 15 Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty Irish novelist (1896–1984) 19th century
  16. 16 Liam Ridgewell Liam Ridgewell English footballer (born 1984) Contemporary
  17. 17 Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977 1920–2017 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Liam Moore Liam Moore Jamaican footballer (born 1993) Contemporary
  19. 19 Liam Lawrence Liam Lawrence English-born Irish footballer (born 1981) Contemporary
  20. 20 Liam O'Flynn Liam O'Flynn Irish musical artist (1945–2018) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Liam?

The median living Liam is about 8 years old. Half of all living Liams are between 4 and 13 years old.

How many people named Liam are alive today?

An estimated 356 thousand people named Liam are alive in the United States, based on 359,085 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Liam mean?

From Irish Liam, a clipping of Uilliam, itself from English William.

How popular is the name Liam in 2025?

Liam ranked #1 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 20,818 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Liam?

359,085 babies have been named Liam in the United States since 1947, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Liam most popular?

Liam peaked in 2024, when 22,288 newborns received the name.

Is Liam a boy or girl name?

Liam is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Liam rising or falling?

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

Will Liam become more popular?

Liam looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 22,014 boys named Liam in 2030, ranking around #1. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Liam?

Well-known people named Liam include Liam Neeson (actor), Liam Rosenior (soccer player), Liam Payne (singer).

Names like Liam

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

Compare Liam with similar names → More names starting with L →