Basil

#5,410 for girls in 2025, 23 births · #2,020 for boys in 2025, 74 births
Given to boys 97.3% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1897 · 33 births
Debut · boys
11 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
13,172
since 1880

Basil over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Basil has never cracked the top 300 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201900peak #321, 1897boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#5,41023#2,02074
2024#6,16719#2,01276
2023#5,24824#2,03274
2022#4,79328#1,82688
2021#4,60729#2,00074
2020#6,32518#2,32358
2019#4,77328#2,04271
2018#5,00726#2,06569
2017#5,19125#2,24059
2016#5,79622#2,22860
2015#7,26616#2,42952
2014#6,98717#2,70544
2013#6,01721#2,27856
2012#6,11021#2,63246
2011#13,3477#2,69944
2010#9,79011#2,57947
2009#13,7047#2,28757
2008#17,5045#3,48631
2007—#2,25758
2006#13,6067#2,06264
2005—#2,39948
2004—#2,59941
2003—#2,00657
2002—#1,94357
2001—#1,84160
2000—#1,74264
1999—#1,77856
1998—#1,58566
1997—#1,77354
1996—#1,42173
1995—#1,47765
1994—#1,38371
1993—#1,42067
1992—#1,32173
1991—#1,38267
1990—#1,33669
1989—#1,61549
1988—#1,31961
1987—#1,24861
1986—#1,15367
1985—#1,48545
1984—#1,42245
1983—#1,00078
1982—#1,25455
1981—#1,29451
1980—#1,17660
1979—#1,27052
1978—#1,21454
1977—#1,09962
1976—#1,21051
1975—#1,09958
1974—#1,19848
1973—#1,07457
1972—#1,00065
1971—#99866
1970—#1,01664
1969—#98960
1968—#96857
1967—#84871
1966—#76292
1965—#81582
1964—#78492
1963—#763101
1962—#77995
1961—#720113
1960—#733110
1959—#735109
1958—#732103
1957—#77295
1956—#718104
1955—#720103
1954—#682112
1953—#616139
1952—#688103
1951—#668109
1950—#658113
1949—#649111
1948—#629116
1947—#535158
1946—#592117
1945—#603101
1944—#564117
1943—#544132
1942—#472169
1941—#513132
1940—#487140
1939—#495135
1938—#460157
1937—#463145
1936—#401189
1935—#417175
1934—#447159
1933—#413172
1932—#396200
1931—#454154
1930—#386219
1929—#373238
1928—#431191
1927#4,8055#371249
1926—#385232
1925—#370259
1924—#354281
1923—#379245
1922—#382247
1921—#374266
1920—#383243
1919#3,8177#352262
1918—#387239
1917—#379221
1916—#341244
1915—#339243
1914—#375161
1913—#387120
1912—#359114
1911—#32869
1910—#38346
1909—#40337
1908—#36539
1907—#35139
1906—#37832
1905—#38430
1904—#32837
1903—#41123
1902—#34832
1901—#34728
1900—#35737
1899—#33628
1898—#37727
1897—#32133
1896—#32334
1895—#41422
1894—#34927
1893—#38322
1892—#40422
1891—#52412
1890—#43417
1889—#46416
1888—#41620
1887—#48813
1886—#60510
1885—#49814
1884—#57011
1883—#6778
1882—#54012
1881—#5959
1880—#57111
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Basil was already there! It came in at #571, and was given to 11 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1884, when fewer than 13 boys a year got the name.

Where Basil is popular in 1900

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

See more about Basil
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 8 spots since 2024 (#2,012 → #2,020)
  • 303 spots since 2020 (#2,323 → #2,020)
  • 409 spots since 2015 (#2,429 → #2,020)
  • Biggest jump: 254 spots in 1983 (#1,254 → #1,000)
  • Biggest drop: 422 spots in 1984 (#1,000 → #1,422)
Rise & fade · boys
17 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1897 at #321 (33 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 93 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 93 yrs · run 1880–1969
Share of babies · boys
1 in 3,275
  • Highest: 1 in 3,275 boys born in 1911 were named Basil (0.03%)
  • Latest: 1 in 23,082 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
  • Its best rank, #321 in 1897, was only 1 in 3,417 (0.03%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1920s
  • 18.6% of all boys named Basil (2,451) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s124#416 (1888)#542
1890s244#321 (1897)#387
1900s334#328 (1904)#367
1910s1,719#328 (1911)#363
1920s2,451#354 (1924)#380
1930s1,705#386 (1930)#433
1940s1,293#472 (1942)#559
1950s1,090#616 (1953)#699
1960s873#720 (1961)#816
1970s577#998 (1971)#1,118
1980s572#1,000 (1983)#1,297
1990s661#1,321 (1992)#1,488
2000s537#1,742 (2000)#2,262
2010s548#2,042 (2019)#2,390
2020s444#1,826 (2022)#2,036

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Basil in 1900

boys
#357
37 births · 1 in 4,067 boys

Top boys' names in 1900

  1. #1John9,828
  2. #2William8,579
  3. #3James7,245
  4. #4George5,403
  5. #5Charles4,098
  6. #6Robert3,821
  7. #7Joseph3,714
  8. #8Frank3,477
  9. #9Edward2,720
  10. #10Henry2,606
  11. #357Basil37
More about 1900

boys

150,474 boys got a published name in 1900; 1 in 4,067 of them was named Basil, which outranked 76.3% of the 1,506 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 34.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Basil
  1. #354Burton38
  2. #354Carlton38
  3. #354Sterling38
  4. #357Basil37
  5. #357Al37
  6. #357Aloysius37
  7. #357Carlos37
  8. #365Billy36
  9. #365Cyrus36
  10. #365Enoch36

Tied with 7 names at #357; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1899
Risers
  1. ↑ 561Bertha#1,051 → #490
  2. ↑ 526Wilber#928 → #402
  3. ↑ 517Lonie#1,051 → #534
  4. ↑ 517Pasquale#1,051 → #534
  5. ↑ 473Boyce#1,051 → #578
Fallers
  1. ↓ 829Dora#481 → #1,310
  2. ↓ 697Sarah#613 → #1,310
  3. ↓ 697Fannie#613 → #1,310
  4. ↓ 681Lem#481 → #1,162
  5. ↓ 656Merritt#394 → #1,050

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1900 →