boys' name ★ peaked 2022

Walker

Meaning A male given name transferred from the surname Gender Boy · 2% girls Rank 2025 #78 Trend ↑ Rising 162%

A male given name transferred from the surname.

Rank 2025
#78
among boys · ↑4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,303
named Walker · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 406
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2022
4,408 babies
All-time total
48,951
#523 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Walker popularity over time

48,951 babies have been named Walker 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
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 266 266 27 – #304
1890s – 294 294 29 +11% #294
1900s – 242 242 24 -18% #381
1910s 10 823 833 83 +244% #453
1920s 18 1,080 1,098 110 +32% #491
1930s – 710 710 71 -35% #644
1940s – 720 720 72 +1% #697
1950s – 580 580 58 -19% #832
1960s – 394 394 39 -32% #1,134
1970s – 547 547 55 +39% #1,018
1980s 5 836 841 84 +54% #897
1990s 71 3,712 3,783 378 +350% #426
2000s 91 6,419 6,510 651 +72% #369
2010s 179 10,057 10,236 1,024 +57% #230
2020s (to 2025) 663 21,234 21,897 3,650 +257% #78

Where Walker 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 4,936 2.89 #64
2027 5,657 3.31 #52
2028 6,352 3.72 #39
2029 7,010 4.10 #32
2030 7,623 4.46 #25

Where Walker is most popular

Boys named Walker per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.24 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Montana, and West 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 Walker 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
Wyoming 43 7.43 +231%
Montana 130 7.37 +229%
West Virginia 230 7.04 +214%
North Dakota 118 6.91 +208%
Vermont 36 5.73 +156%
Mississippi 325 5.72 +155%
Alabama 618 5.65 +152%
Idaho 228 5.57 +148%
South Dakota 103 5.54 +147%
Kentucky 549 5.47 +144%
Arkansas 333 5.26 +135%
Tennessee 935 5.18 +131%
Iowa 336 4.87 +117%
Oklahoma 377 4.26 +90%
South Carolina 439 4.25 +89%
Nebraska 182 4.19 +87%
Maine 81 4.17 +86%
Missouri 569 4.11 +83%
Kansas 276 4.02 +79%
New Hampshire 87 3.92 +75%
Louisiana 388 3.79 +69%
Indiana 595 3.71 +65%
Georgia 931 3.68 +64%
Minnesota 443 3.61 +61%
North Carolina 892 3.49 +56%
Utah 327 3.43 +53%
Wisconsin 392 3.31 +48%
Ohio 870 3.28 +46%
Colorado 388 3.01 +34%
Virginia 537 2.83 +26%
Michigan 576 2.81 +25%
Oregon 210 2.77 +23%
Washington 419 2.56 +14%
Alaska 28 2.35 +5%
Delaware 33 2.18 ≈ national
Texas 1,857 2.11 -6%
Arizona 343 2.10 -7%
Nevada 119 2.09 -7%
Pennsylvania 525 1.98 -12%
Illinois 476 1.86 -17%
Florida 872 1.84 -18%
Maryland 203 1.70 -24%
California 1,127 1.23 -45%
Connecticut 81 1.20 -47%
Hawaii 18 1.16 -48%
Massachusetts 127 0.924 -59%
New Mexico 29 0.880 -61%
New York 365 0.843 -62%
New Jersey 148 0.735 -67%
Rhode Island 11 0.675 -70%
District of Columbia – – –

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 Walker

Walker is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #78 in 2025 with 4,204 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 48,951 American babies have been named Walker. Its peak came in 2022, when 4,408 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 Walker stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Walker?

The median living Walker is about 6 years old; half are between 2 and 18. An estimated 45 thousand people named Walker are alive in the United States today.

median 6 020406080100

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

Walker 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 99 #1,961 4,204 #78
2024 115 #1,769 4,033 #82
2023 121 #1,708 4,018 #85
2022 158 #1,430 4,250 #78
2021 123 #1,696 2,868 #130
2020 47 #3,335 1,861 #206
2019 40 #3,783 1,638 #230
2018 27 #5,003 1,343 #266
2017 19 #6,519 1,100 #315
2016 14 #8,367 1,048 #332
2015 18 #6,965 1,010 #341
2014 19 #6,697 1,046 #326
2013 17 #7,355 840 #370
2012 8 #13,405 707 #412
2011 10 #11,154 676 #417
2010 7 #14,868 649 #426
2009 6 #17,188 589 #464
2008 6 #17,390 554 #494
2007 8 #13,859 601 #460
2006 12 #9,884 696 #413
2005 9 #11,788 803 #369
2004 18 #6,758 722 #380
2003 13 #8,479 625 #414
2002 6 #15,334 622 #406
2001 8 #12,013 629 #399
2000 5 #17,542 578 #427
1995 10 #8,745 450 #481
1990 – – 148 #844
1985 – – 87 #983
1980 5 #12,112 60 #1,186
1975 – – 61 #1,083
1970 – – 40 #1,335
1965 – – 41 #1,205
1960 – – 33 #1,398
1955 – – 61 #969
1950 – – 54 #947
1945 – – 71 #734
1940 – – 73 #716
1935 – – 75 #701
1930 – – 91 #644
1925 5 #5,743 103 #620
1920 8 #3,948 151 #491
1915 5 #4,938 103 #557
1910 – – 38 #453
1905 – – 20 #523
1900 – – 27 #444
1895 – – 36 #304
1890 – – 29 #327
1885 – – 23 #377
1880 – – 29 #318

Famous people named Walker

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

  1. 1 Walker Percy Walker Percy American writer (1916–1990) Contemporary
  2. 2 Walker Evans Walker Evans American photographer and photojournalist (1903–1975) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Walker?

The median living Walker is about 6 years old. Half of all living Walkers are between 2 and 18 years old.

How many people named Walker are alive today?

An estimated 45 thousand people named Walker are alive in the United States, based on 48,951 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Walker mean?

A male given name transferred from the surname.

How popular is the name Walker in 2025?

Walker ranked #78 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,204 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Walker?

48,951 babies have been named Walker in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Walker most popular?

Walker peaked in 2022, when 4,408 newborns received the name.

Is Walker a boy or girl name?

Walker is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Walker rising or falling?

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

Will Walker become more popular?

Walker is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 7,623 boys named Walker in 2030, which would rank around #25. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Walker?

Well-known people named Walker include Walker Percy (writer), Walker Evans (journalist).

Names like Walker

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

Compare Walker with similar names → More names starting with W →