Name Awesome

Memphis

#640 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Memphis has been given to 12,735 babies in the U.S. since 1916. In 2025 it ranked #640 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 768 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 80% boys, 20% girls all-time.

Babies named Memphis, 2025

1 in 7,590

Memphis over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Memphis over time

In 2025, Memphis went to 25% girls and 75% boys.

19152025

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.

Memphis: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Memphis means

Memphis is a given name.

The naming story behind Memphis

Wikidata records Memphis as a male given name. The entity identifier is Q106465631, and the classification was checked on 2026-10-20. The spelling matches a source label or alias exactly, without removing accents or linking it to a name merely because the letters look similar.

A database classification is different from an etymological explanation, so those questions remain open in the short meaning.

A modern root explanation needs an additional naming or linguistic reference.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,185 boys were recorded with the name Memphis between 1916 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 768 in 2021; its best national rank was #404 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #455 in 2020 to #640 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #649 in 2015 to #640 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,550 girls were recorded with the name Memphis between 1915 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 251 in 2022; its best national rank was #1,024 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,315 in 2020 to #1,494 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,930 in 2015 to #1,494 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Memphis?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 7,590
437 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 3,910
0.03% of boys
Rank, 2025
#640
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
5,259 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Memphis 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 5006%

Put another way: gather 5,259 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Memphis. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Memphiss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Memphis was born before 2017 — so the typical Memphis is around 8 today.

Median birth year
2017
About 8 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
43.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
98.9%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,093
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 43.8% of all recorded uses (4,458).

Is Memphis 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
−52
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−185
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+9
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.09×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
56.9%
Peak was 2021 (768)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#404
2021

Where Memphis is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Memphis was most concentrated in Kentucky — about 1 in 719 boys, against 1 in 2,656 across all states with data. It was least common in Massachusetts (1 in 25,000).

4139 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Kentucky1 in 719
  2. 2West Virginia1 in 870
  3. 3Alabama1 in 1,053
  4. 4South Carolina1 in 1,220
  5. 5Oklahoma1 in 1,235
  6. 6Missouri1 in 1,299
  7. 7Tennessee1 in 1,351
  8. 8Indiana1 in 1,408

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, Memphis is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 74% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Memphis is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Memphis was most concentrated in Oklahoma — about 1 in 2,703 girls, against 1 in 10,277 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in 100,000).

137 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Oklahoma1 in 2,703
  2. 2Kentucky1 in 2,778
  3. 3Alabama1 in 4,000
  4. 4Missouri1 in 4,762
  5. 5Indiana1 in 5,263
  6. 6Utah1 in 5,263
  7. 7Iowa1 in 5,556
  8. 8Louisiana1 in 5,882

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.

Memphis around the world

Where Memphis 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
    2001–2025
    #2,269
    in 2025
  • France
    1996–2025
    #2,780
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2001–2024
    #669
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2002–2013
    #499
    in 2013

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

Notable people named Memphis

People whose public names include Memphis, 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.

Memphis by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#640
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 185
Best rank ever
#404
2021
Peak year
2021
768 that year
First recorded
1916
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,185
Count in 2025
437

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,494
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 179
Best rank ever
#1,024
2022
Peak year
2022
251 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,550
Count in 2025
143

Names similar to Memphis

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

MathisCashisKashisMemphysDelphisCleophisMatthisGenghisMenphisMemoryDolphisArchisCleothis

Names with a curve like Memphis

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

JasiahMakaiRoninSorenEdenRayanAyaanKysonCassiusRaidenAbdielZain

Sibling names for Memphis

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 Memphis

Top names of 2021, Memphis's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2021Boys' names starting with M