Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys
Origin: EnglishJames is an English language given name that is a derivative of the name Jacob, most commonly used for males.
From Wikipedia
In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of James yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.
Four generations of James on my husband's side. We weren't going to break that. He goes by Jamie right now but someday he'll just be James and that's exactly right.
— Linda, Richmond VA, 2019
I wanted something that wouldn't date itself. In twenty years James will still be James. You can't say that about a lot of names we considered.
— Tom, Minneapolis MN, 2023
Named after James Baldwin. My husband and I both teach high school English. It was the only name we agreed on without arguing. That felt like a sign.
— Keisha, Oakland CA, 2020
Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.
→ See names similar to James · Compare James with another name → · Popular names of the 1940s · Boys names starting with J
Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 5,927 | #3 |
| 1881 | 5,441 | #3 |
| 1882 | 5,892 | #3 |
| 1883 | 5,223 | #3 |
| 1884 | 5,693 | #3 |
| 1885 | 5,175 | #3 |
| 1886 | 5,355 | #3 |
| 1887 | 4,768 | #3 |
| 1888 | 5,562 | #3 |
| 1889 | 5,020 | #3 |
| 1890 | 5,097 | #3 |
| 1891 | 4,516 | #3 |
| 1892 | 5,398 | #3 |
| 1893 | 5,030 | #3 |
| 1894 | 5,110 | #3 |
| 1895 | 5,335 | #3 |
| 1896 | 5,206 | #3 |
| 1897 | 5,113 | #3 |
| 1898 | 5,321 | #3 |
| 1899 | 4,597 | #3 |
| 1900 | 7,245 | #3 |
| 1901 | 4,735 | #3 |
| 1902 | 5,592 | #3 |
| 1903 | 5,479 | #3 |
| 1904 | 5,855 | #3 |
| 1905 | 6,042 | #3 |
| 1906 | 5,908 | #3 |
| 1907 | 6,707 | #3 |
| 1908 | 7,012 | #3 |
| 1909 | 7,595 | #3 |
| 1910 | 9,194 | #2 |
| 1911 | 9,952 | #3 |
| 1912 | 17,644 | #3 |
| 1913 | 20,832 | #3 |
| 1914 | 26,262 | #3 |
| 1915 | 33,773 | #3 |
| 1916 | 35,568 | #3 |
| 1917 | 37,338 | #3 |
| 1918 | 42,115 | #3 |
| 1919 | 42,392 | #3 |
| 1920 | 47,908 | #4 |
| 1921 | 49,750 | #4 |
| 1922 | 49,803 | #4 |
| 1923 | 50,463 | #4 |
| 1924 | 52,941 | #4 |
| 1925 | 52,679 | #4 |
| 1926 | 53,197 | #3 |
| 1927 | 53,675 | #3 |
| 1928 | 52,753 | #3 |
| 1929 | 52,133 | #2 |
| 1930 | 53,957 | #2 |
| 1931 | 51,213 | #2 |
| 1932 | 51,931 | #2 |
| 1933 | 51,110 | #2 |
| 1934 | 54,269 | #2 |
| 1935 | 55,002 | #2 |
| 1936 | 54,696 | #2 |
| 1937 | 56,562 | #2 |
| 1938 | 59,102 | #2 |
| 1939 | 59,636 | #2 |
| 1940 | 62,481 | #1 |
| 1941 | 66,752 | #1 |
| 1942 | 77,180 | #1 |
| 1943 | 80,275 | #1 |
| 1944 | 76,951 | #1 |
| 1945 | 74,466 | #1 |
| 1946 | 87,436 | #1 |
| 1947 | 94,763 | #1 |
| 1948 | 88,604 | #1 |
| 1949 | 86,859 | #1 |
| 1950 | 86,223 | #1 |
| 1951 | 87,257 | #1 |
| 1952 | 87,066 | #1 |
| 1953 | 86,071 | #2 |
| 1954 | 86,312 | #3 |
| 1955 | 84,184 | #3 |
| 1956 | 84,903 | #2 |
| 1957 | 84,343 | #2 |
| 1958 | 78,773 | #3 |
| 1959 | 78,644 | #3 |
| 1960 | 76,804 | #3 |
| 1961 | 75,959 | #4 |
| 1962 | 72,561 | #4 |
| 1963 | 71,291 | #4 |
| 1964 | 73,021 | #4 |
| 1965 | 67,674 | #4 |
| 1966 | 65,163 | #3 |
| 1967 | 61,688 | #3 |
| 1968 | 60,666 | #4 |
| 1969 | 59,894 | #3 |
| 1970 | 61,740 | #2 |
| 1971 | 54,603 | #2 |
| 1972 | 47,064 | #3 |
| 1973 | 42,838 | #4 |
| 1974 | 41,336 | #5 |
| 1975 | 39,574 | #4 |
| 1976 | 38,298 | #5 |
| 1977 | 40,043 | #5 |
| 1978 | 39,902 | #5 |
| 1979 | 39,351 | #5 |
| 1980 | 39,314 | #5 |
| 1981 | 38,289 | #7 |
| 1982 | 38,875 | #6 |
| 1983 | 36,344 | #6 |
| 1984 | 35,856 | #7 |
| 1985 | 35,864 | #7 |
| 1986 | 34,055 | #7 |
| 1987 | 32,660 | #8 |
| 1988 | 32,521 | #9 |
| 1989 | 32,720 | #9 |
| 1990 | 32,357 | #8 |
| 1991 | 30,513 | #7 |
| 1992 | 28,509 | #9 |
| 1993 | 26,255 | #14 |
| 1994 | 24,777 | #14 |
| 1995 | 22,736 | #17 |
| 1996 | 21,164 | #17 |
| 1997 | 20,407 | #17 |
| 1998 | 19,689 | #18 |
| 1999 | 18,555 | #19 |
| 2000 | 17,991 | #18 |
| 2001 | 17,073 | #19 |
| 2002 | 16,968 | #18 |
| 2003 | 16,895 | #18 |
| 2004 | 16,469 | #17 |
| 2005 | 16,140 | #17 |
| 2006 | 16,254 | #16 |
| 2007 | 15,973 | #15 |
| 2008 | 15,188 | #17 |
| 2009 | 14,221 | #18 |
| 2010 | 13,898 | #19 |
| 2011 | 13,272 | #17 |
| 2012 | 13,456 | #14 |
| 2013 | 13,595 | #13 |
| 2014 | 14,462 | #9 |
| 2015 | 14,861 | #7 |
| 2016 | 14,916 | #5 |
| 2017 | 14,357 | #4 |
| 2018 | 13,642 | #4 |
| 2019 | 13,193 | #6 |
| 2020 | 12,381 | #6 |
| 2021 | 12,464 | #5 |
| 2022 | 12,109 | #4 |
| 2023 | 11,727 | #4 |
| 2024 | 11,793 | #5 |
