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Watson

#1,011 in 2025Boys' name

Son of Wat

Watson has been given to 6,721 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #1,011 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 466 recorded.

Babies named Watson, 2025

1 in 14,800

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Watson: meaning, origin, and history

Son of Wat

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Watson means

Watson means “son of Wat”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 6,699 boys were recorded with the name Watson between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 466 in 2021; its best national rank was #397 in 1882.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #603 in 2020 to #1,011 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,414 in 2015 to #1,011 in 2025.

In the United States, 22 girls were recorded with the name Watson between 2018 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2018; its best national rank was #14,974 in 2020.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #14,974 in 2020 to #17,120 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 Watson?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 14,800
224 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 7,620
0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,011
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
10,260 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Watson 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 5003%

Put another way: gather 10,260 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Watson. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Watsons were born

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

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
31.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
56.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,556
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 31.1% of all recorded uses (2,085).

Is Watson 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
−143
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−408
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+403
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.84×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
48.1%
Peak was 2021 (466)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
30.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#397
1882

Spellings of Watson

Watson is not the most common spelling — Jason is, with 53.6% against Watson's 0.34%.

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 Watson is used

Across 2016–2025, Watson was most concentrated in South Dakota — about 1 in 1,205 boys, against 1 in 5,358 across all states with data. It was least common in New Jersey (1 in 100,000).

183 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Dakota1 in 1,205
  2. 2North Dakota1 in 1,639
  3. 3Wisconsin1 in 1,852
  4. 4Minnesota1 in 2,000
  5. 5Iowa1 in 2,128
  6. 6Utah1 in 2,326
  7. 7Nebraska1 in 2,632
  8. 8Missouri1 in 2,703

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, Watson is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 69% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Watson around the world

Where Watson 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
    2017–2024
    #5,120
    in 2024
  • Scotland
    1979–1979
    #296
    in 1979
  • France
    1983–2021
    #4,516
    in 2021
  • Canada
    2011–2024
    #949
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1945–1992
    #538
    in 1992

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 Watson

People whose public names include Watson, 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.

Watson by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,011
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 408
Best rank ever
#397
1882
Peak year
2021
466 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
6,699
Count in 2025
224

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#17,120
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 2,146
Best rank ever
#14,974
2020
Peak year
2018
6 that year
First recorded
2018
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
22
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Watson

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

CaysonKaisonGibsonMaysonColsonMaisonGersonWattsonVinsonEdisonSamsonJudsonWessonBensonJohnsonKaysonJensonMadisonAnsonBransonLawsonEdsonKysonKarson

Names with a curve like Watson

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

JonesFordJethroCreedMillerOrsonRoyalAnselOakleyBooneMccoyCasper

Sibling names for Watson

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 Watson

Top names of 2021, Watson's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1882Boys' names starting with W