boys' name ★ peaked 1923

Wallace

Meaning foreign Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #964 Trend → Stable

An Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Anglo-Norman waleis (“foreign”); see wǣlisċ.

Rank 2025
#964
among boys · ↑20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
247
named Wallace · +8% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,087
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1923
2,815 babies
All-time total
83,851
#355 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Wallace popularity over time

83,851 babies have been named Wallace 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 – 1,009 1,009 101 – #123
1890s 5 1,199 1,204 120 +19% #115
1900s 10 1,654 1,664 166 +38% #123
1910s 82 8,681 8,763 876 +427% #107
1920s 139 20,916 21,055 2,106 +140% #69
1930s 101 13,241 13,342 1,334 -37% #112
1940s 68 11,464 11,532 1,153 -14% #146
1950s 56 9,446 9,502 950 -18% #198
1960s 38 5,948 5,986 599 -37% #283
1970s 5 2,860 2,865 287 -52% #405
1980s 16 1,846 1,862 186 -35% #553
1990s – 1,099 1,099 110 -41% #897
2000s 7 889 896 90 -18% #1,298
2010s 27 1,589 1,616 162 +80% #882
2020s (to 2025) 34 1,422 1,456 243 +50% #892

Where Wallace 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 240 0.14 outside top 500
2027 239 0.14 outside top 500
2028 239 0.14 outside top 500
2029 238 0.14 outside top 500
2030 238 0.14 outside top 500

Where Wallace is most popular

Boys named Wallace per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.136 per 1,000. Strongest in Wisconsin, Utah, and Minnesota.

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 Wallace 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
Wisconsin 48 0.405 +197%
Utah 38 0.398 +192%
Minnesota 48 0.391 +187%
Alabama 39 0.357 +162%
Washington 52 0.318 +133%
Tennessee 49 0.271 +99%
Idaho 11 0.269 +97%
South Dakota 5 0.269 +97%
North Carolina 50 0.196 +44%
Colorado 23 0.178 +31%
Michigan 36 0.176 +29%
Kansas 11 0.160 +18%
Iowa 11 0.160 +17%
Missouri 22 0.159 +16%
Virginia 30 0.158 +16%
Ohio 38 0.143 +5%
Pennsylvania 35 0.132 ≈ national
Georgia 31 0.122 -10%
New York 52 0.120 -12%
Florida 53 0.112 -18%
Kentucky 11 0.110 -20%
Louisiana 11 0.108 -21%
Oregon 7 0.092 -32%
Texas 76 0.086 -37%
Illinois 22 0.086 -37%
South Carolina 8 0.077 -43%
California 58 0.063 -53%
Oklahoma 5 0.057 -59%
Indiana 8 0.050 -63%
Massachusetts 6 0.044 -68%
Arizona 5 0.031 -78%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
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 Wallace

Wallace is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #964 in 2025 with 241 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 83,851 American babies have been named Wallace. Its peak came in 1923, when 2,815 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

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 Wallace stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Wallace?

The median living Wallace is about 66 years old; half are between 48 and 77. An estimated 29 thousand people named Wallace are alive in the United States today.

median 66 020406080100

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

Wallace 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 6 #14,828 241 #964
2024 – – 229 #984
2023 6 #15,073 216 #1,016
2022 5 #17,609 234 #970
2021 8 #12,134 258 #892
2020 9 #11,033 244 #919
2019 12 #9,083 245 #895
2018 – – 249 #882
2017 – – 197 #1,023
2016 9 #11,726 198 #1,019
2015 – – 154 #1,204
2014 – – 138 #1,293
2013 6 #16,421 143 #1,241
2012 – – 104 #1,542
2011 – – 86 #1,729
2010 – – 75 #1,911
2009 – – 74 #1,939
2008 – – 93 #1,664
2007 – – 84 #1,771
2006 – – 96 #1,549
2005 – – 106 #1,409
2004 – – 83 #1,592
2003 – – 72 #1,716
2002 – – 85 #1,497
2001 7 #13,459 96 #1,351
2000 – – 100 #1,298
1995 – – 98 #1,171
1990 – – 132 #897
1985 – – 181 #652
1980 6 #10,364 240 #553
1975 – – 294 #471
1970 – – 401 #405
1965 – – 539 #326
1960 – – 783 #283
1955 10 #4,060 953 #231
1950 6 #5,286 1,062 #198
1945 10 #3,124 1,008 #167
1940 – – 1,172 #146
1935 6 #4,182 1,200 #133
1930 11 #2,836 1,618 #112
1925 13 #2,769 2,076 #92
1920 17 #2,260 1,877 #93
1915 10 #2,891 1,079 #126
1910 – – 251 #132
1905 5 #2,220 162 #137
1900 – – 161 #138
1895 – – 119 #137
1890 – – 138 #115
1885 – – 107 #129
1880 – – 91 #150

Famous people named Wallace

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

  1. 1 Wallace Shawn Wallace Shawn American actor and writer (born 1943) Contemporary
  2. 2 Wallace Fard Muhammad Wallace Fard Muhammad Founder of the Nation of Islam (c. 1877 – disappeared c. 1934) Contemporary
  3. 3 Wallace Beery Wallace Beery American actor (1885–1949) 19th century
  4. 4 Wallace Langham Wallace Langham American actor (born 1965) Contemporary
  5. 5 Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens American poet (1879–1955) 19th century
  6. 6 Wallace Stegner Wallace Stegner American historian, writer, and environmentalist 1909–1993 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Wallace Hartley Wallace Hartley English violinist, and ''Titanic'' bandleader (1878–1912) 19th century
  8. 8 Wallace Reid Wallace Reid American actor (1891–1923) 19th century
  9. 9 Wallace Roney Wallace Roney American jazz trumpeter (1960–2020) Contemporary
  10. 10 Wallace Spearmon Wallace Spearmon American sprinter (born 1984) Contemporary
  11. 11 Wallace de Souza Wallace de Souza Brazilian volleyball player b. 1987 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Wallace Clement Sabine Wallace Clement Sabine American acoustic physicist (1868–1919) 19th century
  13. 13 Wallace Wallace Brazilian association football player b. 1994 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Wallace Oliveira Brazilian footballer b. 1994 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Wallace?

The median living Wallace is about 66 years old. Half of all living Wallaces are between 48 and 77 years old.

How many people named Wallace are alive today?

An estimated 29 thousand people named Wallace are alive in the United States, based on 83,851 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Wallace mean?

An Old English byname for a Welshman or Breton, from Anglo-Norman waleis (“foreign”); see wǣlisċ.

How popular is the name Wallace in 2025?

Wallace ranked #964 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 241 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Wallace?

83,851 babies have been named Wallace in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Wallace most popular?

Wallace peaked in 1923, when 2,815 newborns received the name.

Is Wallace a boy or girl name?

Wallace is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Wallace rising or falling?

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

Will Wallace become more popular?

Wallace looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 238 boys named Wallace in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Wallace?

Well-known people named Wallace include Wallace Shawn (actor), Wallace Fard Muhammad (politician), Wallace Beery (actor).

Names like Wallace

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

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