Name Awesome

Unique

#2,456 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

English word name: unique

Unique has been given to 8,569 babies in the U.S. since 1972. In 2025 it ranked #2,456 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2009, with 292 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 89% girls, 11% boys all-time.

Babies named Unique, 2025

1 in 45,400

Unique over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Unique went to 61% girls and 39% boys.

19722025

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.

Unique: meaning, origin, and history

English word name: unique

English

What Unique means

Unique is documented as an English vocabulary word adopted as a personal name. Its immediate reference is the word unique; the cited entry discusses the word history separately from its use as a given name.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 7,615 girls were recorded with the name Unique between 1972 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 292 in 2009; its best national rank was #790 in 1996.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,697 in 2020 to #2,456 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,564 in 2015 to #2,456 in 2025.

In the United States, 954 boys were recorded with the name Unique between 1976 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 51 in 2024; its best national rank was #2,391 in 1997.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #7,458 in 2020 to #2,791 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,455 in 2015 to #2,791 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 Unique?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 45,400
73 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 22,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,456
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
31,479 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Unique sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

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 31,479 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Unique. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Uniques were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Unique was born before 2003 — so the typical Unique is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
32.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
58.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
7,615
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 32.5% of all recorded uses (2,476).

Is Unique 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
−280
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−759
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−892
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.52×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
25.0%
Peak was 2009 (292)
Years since peak
16
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#790
1996

Spellings of Unique

Unique is not the most common spelling — Monique is, with 90.0% against Unique's 8.7%.

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 Unique is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Unique was most concentrated in New Mexico — about 1 in 4,348 girls, against 1 in 17,535 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in 100,000).

123 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Mexico1 in 4,348
  2. 2Georgia1 in 8,333
  3. 3Florida1 in 10,000
  4. 4Illinois1 in 14,286
  5. 5Missouri1 in 14,286
  6. 6Indiana1 in 16,667
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 16,667
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 16,667

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.

Where Unique is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Unique was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 50,000 boys, against 1 in 136,126 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 50,000
  2. 2North Carolina1 in 100,000
  3. 3New Jersey1 in —
  4. 4Pennsylvania1 in —
  5. 5Texas1 in —
  6. 6Virginia1 in —

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. Unique has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Unique around the world

Where Unique 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
    1998–2024
    #5,892
    in 2024
  • Canada
    2003–2024
    #3,027
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2012–2012
    #871
    in 2012

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.

Unique by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,456
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 759
Best rank ever
#790
1996
Peak year
2009
292 that year
First recorded
1972
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
7,615
Count in 2025
73

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,791
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 4,667
Best rank ever
#2,391
1997
Peak year
2024
51 that year
First recorded
1976
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
954
Count in 2025
46

Names similar to Unique

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

JacqueUnityUniquaMoniqueEuniqueDominqueAngeliqueDomoniqueVeroniqueUniceDominiqueShaniqueAniqueJaniqueUnikaJoniqueYaniqueRoniqueMarqueUnitaLaniqueEnriqueMystiqueTonique

Names with a curve like Unique

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

KinseyElyssaKarleyDenisseKeilaKatiaLizethKeeleyKalliImanJaceyKayli

Sibling names for Unique

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 Unique

Top names of 2009, Unique's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1996Girls' names starting with U