Name Awesome

Boston

#620 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Possibly aid, assistance + wolf, through Botwulf

Boston has been given to 11,944 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #620 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2014, with 497 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 91% boys, 9% girls all-time.

Babies named Boston, 2025

1 in 7,350

Boston over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Boston over time

In 2025, Boston went to 11% girls and 89% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Boston: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly aid, assistance + wolf, through Botwulf

place names and surname transfer

What Boston means

Boston belongs to the name family reached through Boston → Botwulf. Its meaning is “aid, assistance + wolf”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

The US city is named after the English town (from which several prominent colonists had come), which itself is sometimes said to be named as a contraction of Botolph's town or Botolph's stone (the name Botolph itself coming from Old English Botwulf, from boda + wulf). However, this is uncertain.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Boston (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Boston is used in English. Its origins include place names and surname transfer.

Boston comes through Old English Botwulf.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Botolph and Botwulf.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Boston is pronounced /ˈbɔstən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,901 boys were recorded with the name Boston between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 497 in 2014; its best national rank was #536 in 2012.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #594 in 2020 to #620 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #605 in 2015 to #620 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,043 girls were recorded with the name Boston between 1992 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 65 in 2014; its best national rank was #2,688 in 2014.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,555 in 2020 to #3,037 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,855 in 2015 to #3,037 in 2025.

How common is Boston?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 7,350
451 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 3,790
0.03% of boys
Rank, 2025
#620
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
5,096 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Boston sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1001%
School of 5007%

Put another way: gather 5,096 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Boston. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Bostons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Boston was born before 2013 — so the typical Boston is around 12 today.

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
41.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
89.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,484
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 41.1% of all recorded uses (4,481).

Is Boston rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+7
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−26
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−15
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
1.00×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
90.7%
Peak was 2014 (497)
Years since peak
11
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
6.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#536
2012

Spellings of Boston

Boston is not the most common spelling — Colton is, with 33.6% against Boston's 2.4%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Boston is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Boston was most concentrated in Utah — about 1 in 377 boys, against 1 in 3,669 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in 100,000).

1265 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Utah1 in 377
  2. 2Idaho1 in 709
  3. 3Oklahoma1 in 855
  4. 4Kansas1 in 1,563
  5. 5Iowa1 in 1,587
  6. 6Arkansas1 in 1,667
  7. 7Nebraska1 in 1,724
  8. 8Louisiana1 in 1,786

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Boston is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 99% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Boston is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Boston was most concentrated in Utah — about 1 in 11,111 girls, against 1 in 220,046 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

09 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Utah1 in 11,111
  2. 2Oklahoma1 in 100,000
  3. 3California1 in —
  4. 4Indiana1 in —
  5. 5Ohio1 in —
  6. 6Texas1 in —
  7. 7Washington1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Boston has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Boston around the world

Where Boston ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2025
    #3,256
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2022–2023
    #728
    in 2023
  • Northern Ireland
    2014–2014
    #398
    in 2014
  • Ireland
    2019–2022
    #779
    in 2022
  • France
    2003–2025
    #4,944
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1995–2024
    #886
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1997–2013
    #317
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Boston

People whose public names include Boston, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Boston by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#620
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 26
Best rank ever
#536
2012
Peak year
2014
497 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,901
Count in 2025
451

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,037
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 518
Best rank ever
#2,688
2014
Peak year
2014
65 that year
First recorded
1992
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,043
Count in 2025
54

Names similar to Boston

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JaxtonKentonBentonLaytonBartonWiltonNewtonDaxtonDaytonSuttonHiltonKoltonKeltonWaltonKeatonBurtonDentonTristonPaytonDeltonSheltonMaxtonPaxtonGaston

Names with a curve like Boston

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Boston, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

CannonSincereAlijahDeaconRylandArjunAryanKylanMaddenLaytonHamzaSoren

Sibling names for Boston

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Boston

Top names of 2014, Boston's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2012Boys' names starting with B