Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Royal

Meaning rye Gender Unisex · 18% girls Rank 2025 #476 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā…

Rank 2025
#476
among boys · ↓52 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
765
named Royal · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,669
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2021
1,217 babies
All-time total
24,394
#840 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Royal popularity over time

24,394 babies have been named Royal 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 274 274 27 – #279
1890s – 299 299 30 +9% #283
1900s – 312 312 31 +4% #339
1910s – 1,338 1,338 134 +329% #384
1920s 13 2,030 2,043 204 +53% #396
1930s 22 1,355 1,377 138 -33% #463
1940s 24 1,289 1,313 131 -5% #499
1950s 18 1,068 1,086 109 -17% #608
1960s 5 735 740 74 -32% #787
1970s 33 561 594 59 -20% #938
1980s 57 496 553 55 -7% #1,198
1990s 86 502 588 59 +6% #1,378
2000s 117 764 881 88 +50% #1,402
2010s 2,366 4,361 6,727 673 +664% #459
2020s (to 2025) 1,581 4,688 6,269 1,045 +55% #369

Where Royal 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 652 0.38 #469
2027 663 0.39 #466
2028 672 0.39 #462
2029 680 0.40 #459
2030 686 0.40 #455

Where Royal is most popular

Boys named Royal per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.457 per 1,000. Strongest in Georgia, Nevada, and South Carolina.

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 Royal 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
Georgia 343 1.35 +196%
Nevada 61 1.07 +134%
South Carolina 107 1.04 +127%
Mississippi 58 1.02 +123%
Louisiana 104 1.02 +122%
Maryland 97 0.813 +78%
North Carolina 189 0.740 +62%
Alabama 80 0.732 +60%
Missouri 91 0.657 +44%
Minnesota 73 0.595 +30%
Delaware 9 0.594 +30%
Ohio 157 0.592 +30%
Arizona 96 0.587 +28%
Oklahoma 50 0.565 +24%
Illinois 141 0.552 +21%
Wisconsin 65 0.549 +20%
Michigan 108 0.527 +15%
Florida 248 0.524 +15%
Tennessee 94 0.521 +14%
Virginia 95 0.501 +10%
New York 213 0.492 +8%
Indiana 75 0.468 ≈ national
Texas 410 0.465 ≈ national
Colorado 59 0.457 ≈ national
Utah 43 0.450 ≈ national
Arkansas 28 0.442 ≈ national
Iowa 30 0.435 -5%
New Jersey 85 0.422 -8%
Pennsylvania 112 0.422 -8%
District of Columbia 6 0.406 -11%
Washington 62 0.379 -17%
Nebraska 16 0.368 -19%
Oregon 25 0.329 -28%
South Dakota 6 0.322 -29%
Kansas 22 0.321 -30%
California 266 0.291 -36%
Idaho 11 0.269 -41%
Connecticut 17 0.251 -45%
Kentucky 18 0.179 -61%
Massachusetts 24 0.175 -62%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
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 Royal

Royal is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #476 in 2025 with 640 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 24,394 American babies have been named Royal, about 82% boys and 18% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 1,217 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 Royal stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Royal?

The median living Royal is about 8 years old; half are between 4 and 19. An estimated 18 thousand people named Royal 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.

Royal 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 125 #1,663 640 #476
2024 194 #1,219 745 #424
2023 259 #988 795 #401
2022 322 #864 880 #369
2021 329 #840 888 #369
2020 352 #774 740 #405
2019 351 #790 653 #459
2018 341 #800 610 #482
2017 418 #697 577 #504
2016 477 #629 662 #461
2015 380 #742 648 #467
2014 255 #1,024 489 #570
2013 59 #2,896 235 #888
2012 32 #4,581 194 #1,016
2011 35 #4,227 148 #1,196
2010 18 #7,160 145 #1,226
2009 25 #5,678 122 #1,402
2008 14 #8,877 110 #1,491
2007 14 #8,915 115 #1,420
2006 10 #11,253 75 #1,837
2005 6 #16,042 68 #1,883
2004 14 #8,146 61 #1,986
2003 7 #13,534 53 #2,120
2002 9 #10,916 53 #2,062
2001 7 #13,191 57 #1,930
2000 11 #9,031 50 #2,043
1995 7 #11,500 42 #2,018
1990 10 #8,368 66 #1,378
1985 5 #12,043 52 #1,349
1980 12 #5,825 52 #1,310
1975 – – 46 #1,274
1970 – – 73 #938
1965 5 #7,314 78 #835
1960 – – 95 #787
1955 6 #5,711 104 #719
1950 – – 112 #661
1945 6 #4,455 144 #499
1940 – – 127 #516
1935 – – 123 #521
1930 – – 158 #472
1925 – – 200 #424
1920 – – 200 #423
1915 – – 157 #433
1910 – – 44 #406
1905 – – 30 #389
1900 – – 25 #466
1895 – – 32 #328
1890 – – 31 #315
1885 – – 28 #324
1880 – – 26 #340

Famous people named Royal

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

  1. 1 Royal Harwood Frost American astronomer (1879–1950) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Royal?

The median living Royal is about 8 years old. Half of all living Royals are between 4 and 19 years old.

How many people named Royal are alive today?

An estimated 18 thousand people named Royal are alive in the United States, based on 24,394 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Royal mean?

A habitational surname, shaped by folk etymology, from places in England, Riehale, Righale, Ryhill and Ryall, Old English ryge (“rye”) + hyll (“hill”), and Royle, rā (“roe”) + hyll (“hill”).

How popular is the name Royal in 2025?

Royal ranked #476 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 640 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Royal?

24,394 babies have been named Royal in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Royal most popular?

Royal peaked in 2021, when 1,217 newborns received the name.

Is Royal a boy or girl name?

Royal is used for both: about 18% of babies named Royal have been girls and 82% boys.

Is the name Royal rising or falling?

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

Will Royal become more popular?

Royal is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 686 boys named Royal in 2030, which would rank around #455. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Royal?

Well-known people named Royal include Royal Harwood Frost (astronomer).

Names like Royal

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

Compare Royal with similar names → More names starting with R →