Name Awesome

Ramsey

#1,970 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Wild garlic + island

Ramsey has been given to 8,861 babies in the U.S. since 1894. In 2025 it ranked #1,970 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2017, with 152 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 75% boys, 25% girls all-time.

Babies named Ramsey, 2025

1 in 42,500

Ramsey over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Ramsey went to 49% girls and 51% boys.

18942025

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.

Ramsey: meaning, origin, and history

Wild garlic + island

surname transfer

What Ramsey means

Ramsey means “wild garlic + island”, associated with hramsa and īeġ.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Old English hramsa (“wild garlic”) + īeġ (“island”).

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Ramsey is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Ramsey comes through Old English hramsa.

Ramsey is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ramsey is pronounced /ˈɹæmzi/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 6,602 boys were recorded with the name Ramsey between 1894 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 152 in 2017; its best national rank was #849 in 1980.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,411 in 2020 to #1,970 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,345 in 2015 to #1,970 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,259 girls were recorded with the name Ramsey between 1965 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 120 in 2021; its best national rank was #1,728 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,000 in 2020 to #2,377 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,274 in 2015 to #2,377 in 2025.

How common is Ramsey?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 42,500
78 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 21,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,970
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
29,461 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ramsey 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 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 29,461 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ramsey. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ramseys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ramsey was born before 1996 — so the typical Ramsey is around 29 today.

Median birth year
1996
About 29 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
18.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
42.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
6,161
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 18.4% of all recorded uses (1,216).

Is Ramsey 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
−207
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−559
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−625
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.60×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
51.3%
Peak was 2017 (152)
Years since peak
8
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
11.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#849
1980

Spellings of Ramsey

Ramsey is not the most common spelling — Casey is, with 77.0% against Ramsey's 4.4%.

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 Ramsey is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Ramsey was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in 9,091 boys, against 1 in 19,398 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in 100,000).

111 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Georgia1 in 9,091
  2. 2Texas1 in 11,111
  3. 3Wisconsin1 in 12,500
  4. 4Virginia1 in 14,286
  5. 5California1 in 16,667
  6. 6Florida1 in 16,667
  7. 7Minnesota1 in 16,667
  8. 8Washington1 in 16,667

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.

Where Ramsey is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Ramsey was most concentrated in Kentucky — about 1 in 4,000 girls, against 1 in 19,132 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in 100,000).

125 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Kentucky1 in 4,000
  2. 2South Dakota1 in 4,762
  3. 3Alabama1 in 5,263
  4. 4Georgia1 in 6,250
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 6,250
  6. 6Minnesota1 in 9,091
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 12,500
  8. 8Oklahoma1 in 12,500

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.

Ramsey around the world

Where Ramsey 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
    #3,684
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2012–2023
    #728
    in 2023
  • France
    2021–2021
    #5,540
    in 2021
  • Canada
    1991–2023
    #3,103
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1950–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS 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 Ramsey

People whose public names include Ramsey, 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.

Ramsey by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,970
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 559
Best rank ever
#849
1980
Peak year
2017
152 that year
First recorded
1894
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
6,602
Count in 2025
78

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,377
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 377
Best rank ever
#1,728
2021
Peak year
2021
120 that year
First recorded
1965
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,259
Count in 2025
76

Names similar to Ramsey

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

RamsesRamoneRamiroKelseyRamiRamelDempseyRamirRamondKaseyDorseyRamellRamziRamsayRaminRameyJesseyRamonRamyLindseyRamariRamzyJerseyRamelo

Names with a curve like Ramsey

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

LazaroBrittonFrancescoKalvinMarcellBrandtAndreasCristobalAbdulMauroGiuseppePaulo

Sibling names for Ramsey

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 Ramsey

Top names of 2017, Ramsey's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1980Boys' names starting with R