Liam
An Irish short form of Uilliam, the Irish William.
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Irish short form of William, carried by immigrants' descendants to the very top of the recent American charts.
Liam first shows up in the national records in 1947. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 2006 to 2025. It has been the single most popular name for American boys in 9 different years, first in 2017 and most recently in 2025. Its biggest year was 2024, when 22,252 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 1 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 1 for boys. All told, 359,085 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Lyam (2,077), Liem (742) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: William
Explore Liam interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 5 | No. 3733 |
| 1950s | 117 | No. 1487 |
| 1960s | 400 | No. 931 |
| 1970s | 784 | No. 798 |
| 1980s | 1,527 | No. 668 |
| 1990s | 11,904 | No. 141 |
| 2000s | 44,940 | No. 49 |
| 2010s | 174,017 | No. 1 |
| 2020s | 124,842 | No. 1 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.