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Princeton

#653 in 2025Boys' name

Literal meaning not recorded

Princeton has been given to 10,256 babies in the U.S. since 1950. In 2025 it ranked #653 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2017, with 793 recorded.

Babies named Princeton, 2025

1 in 7,860

Princeton over time, 1880–2025

Boys
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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Princeton: meaning, origin, and history

Literal meaning not recorded

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Princeton means

Princeton is a given name.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From prince + -ton (“town”), originally in honor of crown princes or princes of the British Empire but later chiefly in honor of others with the name Prince or locations named Princeton. Doublet of Princetown. Cf. Princes Town, Princeville, Kingston, Kingstone, Coniston, Kingstown, Queenston, and Queenstown. In particular, the British Columbian town is named for Edward VII, who was known as Albert, Prince of Wales, during the reign of his mother Queen Victoria. The New Jersey borough is named for William III—who became king of England through marriage to Mary II—in honor of his own separate Dutch title of Prince of Orange. The North Carolina town and Nebraska and Ontario communities are named for the New Jersey borough; the Missouri city is named for the Battle of Princeton which occurred there in the American Revolution; and the Illinois city and Florida CDP are named for the university named for its location in the borough. The given name derives from the prestigious university.

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Princeton is used in English.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Princeton is pronounced /ˈpɹɪnstən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,256 boys were recorded with the name Princeton between 1950 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 793 in 2017; its best national rank was #402 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #412 in 2020 to #653 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #431 in 2015 to #653 in 2025.

How common is Princeton?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 7,860
422 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 4,050
0.02% of boys
Rank, 2025
#653
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
5,446 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Princeton 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 5,446 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Princeton. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Princetons were born

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

Median birth year
2017
About 8 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
53.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
91.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,256
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 53.2% of all recorded uses (5,461).

Is Princeton 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
−39
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−241
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−222
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.59×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
53.2%
Peak was 2017 (793)
Years since peak
8
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#402
2017

Where Princeton is used

Across 2016–2025, Princeton was most concentrated in Mississippi — about 1 in 397 boys, against 1 in 2,357 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in 20,000).

5252 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Mississippi1 in 397
  2. 2South Carolina1 in 741
  3. 3Louisiana1 in 826
  4. 4Alabama1 in 847
  5. 5Georgia1 in 862
  6. 6Arkansas1 in 952
  7. 7Tennessee1 in 1,250
  8. 8Hawaii1 in 1,429

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, Princeton is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 94% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Princeton around the world

Where Princeton 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
    2012–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2008–2024
    #1,232
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2007–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Princeton

People whose public names include Princeton, 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.

Princeton by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#653
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 241
Best rank ever
#402
2017
Peak year
2017
793 that year
First recorded
1950
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,256
Count in 2025
422

Names similar to Princeton

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

PrincestonLeightonRemingtonCreightonLangstonHamiltonTristonSheltonPrinstonKashtonCharltonThurstonPrinceArlingtonBrentonStantonThorntonBrightonBrittonWellingtonHoustonCharlestonKingstonHampton

Names with a curve like Princeton

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

JaxtonKysonOdinLeonidasKingsleyDaxtonEdenCaysonKillianRoninNikolaiZayne

Sibling names for Princeton

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 Princeton

Top names of 2017, Princeton's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2017Boys' names starting with P