boys' name ★ peaked 1959

Perry

Meaning A unisex given name Gender Boy · 5% girls Rank 2025 #1,373 Trend → Stable

A unisex given name. A unisex given name transferred from the surname.

Rank 2025
#1,373
among boys · ↓133 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
218
named Perry · -18% vs 2024
How common
1 in 12,652
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1959
2,786 babies
All-time total
79,735
#384 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Perry popularity over time

79,735 babies have been named Perry 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
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 6 1,255 1,261 126 – #101
1890s 20 989 1,009 101 -20% #134
1900s 48 1,047 1,095 110 +9% #148
1910s 145 3,636 3,781 378 +245% #200
1920s 230 5,838 6,068 607 +60% #213
1930s 188 5,411 5,599 560 -8% #211
1940s 274 7,778 8,052 805 +44% #194
1950s 286 17,078 17,364 1,736 +116% #132
1960s 235 15,121 15,356 1,536 -12% #146
1970s 140 5,351 5,491 549 -64% #263
1980s 219 4,604 4,823 482 -12% #354
1990s 290 3,602 3,892 389 -19% #455
2000s 283 2,083 2,366 237 -39% #679
2010s 719 1,391 2,110 211 -11% #1,192
2020s (to 2025) 608 860 1,468 245 +16% #1,240

Where Perry 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 137 0.08 outside top 500
2027 138 0.08 outside top 500
2028 140 0.08 outside top 500
2029 141 0.08 outside top 500
2030 142 0.08 outside top 500

Where Perry is most popular

Boys named Perry per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.083 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, Georgia, and Virginia.

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 Perry 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
Montana 5 0.284 +243%
Georgia 34 0.134 +62%
Virginia 20 0.105 +28%
Ohio 27 0.102 +23%
Wisconsin 12 0.101 +23%
South Carolina 10 0.097 +17%
New York 38 0.088 +6%
Iowa 6 0.087 +5%
Pennsylvania 20 0.075 -9%
Indiana 12 0.075 -9%
Kansas 5 0.073 -12%
Massachusetts 10 0.073 -12%
Illinois 18 0.070 -15%
Oklahoma 6 0.068 -18%
Michigan 13 0.063 -23%
Texas 52 0.059 -29%
Florida 27 0.057 -31%
California 52 0.057 -31%
Missouri 7 0.051 -39%
Kentucky 5 0.050 -40%
Minnesota 6 0.049 -41%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -41%
North Carolina 8 0.031 -62%
Washington 5 0.031 -63%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Perry

Perry is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,373 in 2025 with 135 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 79,735 American babies have been named Perry. Its peak came in 1959, when 2,786 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 Perry stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Perry?

The median living Perry is about 61 years old; half are between 42 and 68. An estimated 50 thousand people named Perry are alive in the United States today.

median 61 020406080100

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

Perry 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 83 #2,233 135 #1,373
2024 104 #1,921 161 #1,240
2023 123 #1,686 136 #1,377
2022 102 #1,952 137 #1,373
2021 108 #1,858 145 #1,302
2020 88 #2,093 146 #1,261
2019 101 #1,947 133 #1,352
2018 80 #2,293 135 #1,338
2017 97 #2,032 147 #1,248
2016 88 #2,202 122 #1,430
2015 87 #2,189 140 #1,280
2014 69 #2,576 151 #1,216
2013 63 #2,758 139 #1,259
2012 62 #2,827 144 #1,233
2011 40 #3,822 149 #1,192
2010 32 #4,577 131 #1,315
2009 29 #5,057 163 #1,133
2008 28 #5,244 166 #1,109
2007 31 #4,778 184 #1,026
2006 30 #4,770 195 #957
2005 34 #4,178 193 #915
2004 32 #4,357 226 #800
2003 25 #5,058 217 #801
2002 19 #6,066 231 #750
2001 25 #4,798 245 #719
2000 30 #4,151 263 #679
1995 29 #3,751 342 #549
1990 22 #4,477 473 #455
1985 21 #3,947 521 #354
1980 21 #3,805 443 #387
1975 13 #4,776 488 #350
1970 22 #3,085 845 #263
1965 25 #2,451 1,364 #186
1960 43 #1,742 2,415 #146
1955 22 #2,389 1,451 #183
1950 35 #1,593 1,096 #193
1945 25 #1,693 683 #208
1940 27 #1,507 553 #225
1935 23 #1,597 517 #227
1930 17 #2,091 581 #221
1925 28 #1,599 568 #231
1920 25 #1,693 542 #233
1915 14 #2,230 478 #218
1910 10 #1,602 125 #207
1905 6 #1,879 104 #180
1900 – – 142 #148
1895 – – 97 #160
1890 – – 108 #134
1885 – – 115 #120
1880 – – 134 #101

Famous people named Perry

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

  1. 1 Perry Como Perry Como American singer, actor, and TV personality (1912–2001) Contemporary
  2. 2 Perry Farrell Perry Farrell American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1959) Contemporary
  3. 3 Perry King Perry King American actor (born 1948) Contemporary
  4. 4 Perry Anderson Perry Anderson British historian (born 1938) Contemporary
  5. 5 Perry Christie Perry Christie Bahamian politician (born 1943) Contemporary
  6. 6 Perry Kitchen Perry Kitchen American professional soccer player b. 1992 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Perry?

The median living Perry is about 61 years old. Half of all living Perrys are between 42 and 68 years old.

How many people named Perry are alive today?

An estimated 50 thousand people named Perry are alive in the United States, based on 79,735 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Perry mean?

A unisex given name. A unisex given name transferred from the surname.

How popular is the name Perry in 2025?

Perry ranked #1,373 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 135 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Perry?

79,735 babies have been named Perry in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Perry most popular?

Perry peaked in 1959, when 2,786 newborns received the name.

Is Perry a boy or girl name?

Perry is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 95% of babies with the name.

Is the name Perry rising or falling?

Perry has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Perry become more popular?

Perry looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 142 boys named Perry in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Perry?

Well-known people named Perry include Perry Como (singer), Perry Farrell (musician), Perry King (actor).

Names like Perry

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

Compare Perry with similar names → More names starting with P →