US Name Trends

Tom

A pet form of Thomas, Aramaic for “twin.”

1959peak year
No. 40best rank (1880)
140,370babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Tom per year — peak 5,068▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Tom appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 46 different years between 1880 and 1962. Its biggest year was 1959, when 5,068 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 82 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1880, at No. 40. All told, 140,370 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

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Other names that share a story: Thomas

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s3,786No. 40
1890s3,335No. 57
1900s3,293No. 52
1910s7,623No. 82
1920s11,923No. 131
1930s16,427No. 97
1940s29,884No. 87
1950s23,754No. 82
1960s29,201No. 86
1970s4,864No. 219
1980s1,984No. 538
1990s1,454No. 693
2000s1,097No. 1076
2010s786No. 1746
2020s345No. 2183

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.