Western Boy Names
Names parents in the Mountain West choose far more often than the country as a whole, based on each name’s share of official U.S. birth records from the last decade. Compare meanings, popularity, and history to find regional favorites.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stone; rock | 1,954#187 | Up 28 rank positions in five years | 1957 | ||
Little red one | 944#345 | Up 25 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
Bald | 2,710#132 | Up 12 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Valley or dean, from two surname traditions | 2,876#125 | Up 51 rank positions in five years | 1961 | ||
Famous in battle, through Louis | 736#433 | Up 64 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Iron or battle, with eager or fiery | 1,381#251 | Up 165 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
One who tans hides | 641#475 | Down 142 rank positions in five years | 1998 | ||
Near a brook | 4,877#64 | Up 28 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Cleric, scribe | 837#377 | Up 10 rank positions in five years | 1961 | ||
Meaning uncertain; Germanic and Greek histories | 2,974#119 | Up 15 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Son in the surname family; great in the Magnus family | 668#463 | Up 42 rank positions in five years | 1942 | ||
Possibly rich | 2,003#183 | Down 35 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
Wealth, fortune | 1,241#277 | Up 112 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Brave counsel | 770#417 | Up 134 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
From Stirling, meaning uncertain; also excellent | 944#346 | Up 54 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Descendant of Conn; deeper meaning disputed | 663#467 | Down 28 rank positions in five years | 2009 | ||
White or fair in Irish; Sámi or Finn in the Norse tradition | 1,702#206 | Down 27 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Bowman | 3,627#98 | Up 62 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Cross | 1,025#331 | Down 28 rank positions in five years | 2013 | ||
Box maker, from an occupational surname | 1,181#287 | Down 23 rank positions in five years | 2013 | ||
Probably happy or glad | 1,862#194 | Up 159 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Jet aircraft or deep black | 2,167#169 | Up 109 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Possibly enduring | 4,413#75 | Up 113 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Short form of Jackson | 961#342 | Down 96 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Meaning uncertain | 2,443#148 | Up 72 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Round hill | 1,836#196 | Up 42 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
Greek mythological name; meaning uncertain | 1,012#334 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 2018 | ||
At the ash tree | 1,357#255 | Down 15 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Exalted; venerable | 783#407 | Up 92 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Enclosure or fence; also descendant of Aodh | 2,240#162 | Up 83 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Doorkeeper; also a carrier of loads | 531#560 | Down 136 rank positions in five years | 2015 | ||
Becca's homestead | 2,185#168 | Up 80 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
From Attica | 1,208#281 | Up 18 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Home ruler; also connected with John | 776#413 | Up 70 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Wise person; also the sage herb | 684#456 | Down 20 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
English surname, probably from Stidston in Devon | 2,662#136 | Up 351 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Modern elaboration of Dax | 834#379 | Down 91 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Son of Ben; also an English place-name surname | 1,214#279 | Up 273 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Awakening or enlightenment | 1,301#265 | Up 30 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Frenzy or inspiration | 604#502 | Down 171 rank positions in five years | 2022 | ||
A group working together; weir in the surname branch | 1,352#256 | Up 28 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
English surname transferred into given-name use | 393#692 | Down 223 rank positions in five years | 2019 | ||
Serious, grave | 665#464 | Up 45 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Possibly aid, assistance + wolf, through Botwulf | 451#620 | Down 26 rank positions in five years | 2014 | ||
Keeper of horses | 2,354#157 | Up 815 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Possibly a ronin | 600#504 | Down 114 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Bridge | 921#356 | Up 84 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Variant of Bodhi | 1,249#275 | Up 337 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
English word name: ridge | 566#530 | Up 99 rank positions in five years | 2023 | ||
Son of Nick | 206#1,061 | Down 410 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Spring | 944#347 | Up 199 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Friend, companion | 778#411 | Up 178 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
English surname transferred into given-name use | 383#701 | Up 230 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
English surname transferred into given-name use | 1,099#310 | Up 443 rank positions in five years | 2025 |
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How this list is built
For each name we compare its share of babies across the Mountain West — Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada — with its share across the whole country, using U.S. birth birth records from 2016–2025. A name appears here when it is at least 1.6× more common in the region than nationwide, given to enough babies across at least 4 of the region's states that it is a real regional pattern rather than one small state's noise. Because we compare shares, not raw counts, a big state can't crowd the list — the ranking is by the multiple, most region-tied first.
The birth data records how often a name was used, never why, so this is a map of where names cluster, not a claim about the families who choose them. Names given to fewer than five babies in a state in a year aren't published, so a name absent from a state may simply be rare there, not unheard of.