Bear

#853 for boys in 2025, 286 births

Peak · boys
2022 · 332 births
Debut · boys
6 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
3,356
since 1975

Bear over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Bear has never cracked the top 700 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202021boysat peak
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
Yearboys
rankbirths
2025#853286
2024#826302
2023#820299
2022#760332
2021#827288
2020#899250
2019#897244
2018#998207
2017#1,020198
2016#1,055187
2015#1,317134
2014#1,329131
2013#1,70986
2012#1,84979
2011#1,73085
2010#2,35454
2009#2,34855
2008#2,58348
2007#4,12724
2006#8,7328
2005#7,09610
2004—
2003#8,6437
2002#9,3926
2001#7,5368
2000#9,1126
1999—
1998—
1997#8,1106
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1994#8,8005
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1981#6,2625
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1975#4,7976
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First appearance
1975

The first year at least five boys were named Bear! It came in at #4,797, and was given to 6 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1976–1996, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

Where Bear is popular in 2021

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNHWashington: #587 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 3,036 boysWAIdaho: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNDMinnesota: #716 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 4,190 boysMNIllinois: #723 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 4,492 boysILWisconsin: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedWIMichigan: #1,005 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 7,161 boysMINew York: #1,801 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 17,826 boysNYMassachusetts: #650 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 4,753 boysMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedRIOregon: #450 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 1,987 boysORNevada: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedIAIndiana: #940 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 6,551 boysINOhio: #744 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 4,929 boysOHPennsylvania: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedPANew Jersey: #917 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 6,759 boysNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #838 for boys · 29 births · 1 in 6,530 boysCAUtah: #460 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 2,133 boysUTColorado: #404 for boys · 14 births · 1 in 1,845 boysCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNEMissouri: #856 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 5,709 boysMOKentucky: #491 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 2,481 boysKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedWVVirginia: #1,049 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 7,821 boysVAMaryland: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedDEArizona: #636 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 3,625 boysAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNMKansas: #574 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 2,761 boysKSArkansas: #483 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 2,166 boysARTennessee: #680 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 3,982 boysTNNorth Carolina: #539 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 3,002 boysNCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedOKLouisiana: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedLAMississippi: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMSAlabama: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedALGeorgia: #1,158 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 8,395 boysGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedHITexas: #776 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 5,348 boysTXFlorida: #1,136 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 9,276 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Colorado#404 · 1 in 1,845
  2. Oregon#450 · 1 in 1,987
  3. Utah#460 · 1 in 2,133
  4. Arkansas#483 · 1 in 2,166
  5. Kentucky#491 · 1 in 2,481

Best ever in a state: #302 in Idaho, 2018.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Colorado#404141 in 1,845
Oregon#45081 in 1,987
Utah#46091 in 2,133
Arkansas#48361 in 2,166
Kentucky#49181 in 2,481
North Carolina#539171 in 3,002
Kansas#57451 in 2,761
Washington#587111 in 3,036
Arizona#63691 in 3,625
Massachusetts#65061 in 4,753
Tennessee#68091 in 3,982
Minnesota#71661 in 4,190
Illinois#723121 in 4,492
Ohio#744111 in 4,929
Texas#776321 in 5,348
California#838291 in 6,530
Missouri#85651 in 5,709
New Jersey#91761 in 6,759
Indiana#94051 in 6,551
Michigan#1,00561 in 7,161
Virginia#1,04951 in 7,821
Florida#1,136101 in 9,276
Georgia#1,15861 in 8,395
New York#1,80151 in 17,826
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Bear
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 27 spots since 2024 (#826 → #853)
  • 46 spots since 2020 (#899 → #853)
  • 464 spots since 2015 (#1,317 → #853)
  • Biggest jump: 101 spots in 2019 (#998 → #897)
  • Biggest drop: 60 spots in 2023 (#760 → #820)
Rise & fade · boys
47 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1975
  • Peaked 2022 at #760 (332 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 8 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 8 yrs · run 2018–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 5,259
  • Highest: 1 in 5,259 boys born in 2022 were named Bear (0.02%)
  • Latest: 1 in 5,972 boys born in 2025 (0.02%)
Era · boys
The 2020s
  • 52.4% of all boys named Bear (1,757) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1970s6#4,797 (1975)#4,797
1980s5#6,262 (1981)#6,262
1990s11#8,110 (1997)#8,455
2000s172#2,348 (2009)#6,619
2010s1,405#897 (2019)#1,426
2020s1,757#760 (2022)#831

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.

Bear in 2021

boys
#827
288 births · 1 in 6,075 boys

Top boys' names in 2021

  1. #1Liam20,424
  2. #2Noah18,919
  3. #3Oliver14,713
  4. #4Elijah12,845
  5. #5James12,474
  6. #6William12,170
  7. #7Benjamin11,895
  8. #8Lucas11,584
  9. #9Henry11,370
  10. #10Theodore9,600
  11. #827Bear288
More about 2021

boys

1,749,482 boys got a published name in 2021; 1 in 6,075 of them was named Bear, which outranked 94.1% of the 14,096 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.8% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Bear
  1. #824Bode290
  2. #825Jiraiya289
  3. #825Kase289
  4. #827Bear288
  5. #827Boden288
  6. #829Ameer287
  7. #829Maurice287
  8. #831Demetrius286

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2020
Risers
  1. ↑ 536Amiri#1,295 → #759
  2. ↑ 438Eliam#1,177 → #739
  3. ↑ 343Colter#972 → #629
  4. ↑ 333Ozzy#1,046 → #713
  5. ↑ 299Loyal#1,053 → #754
Fallers
  1. ↓ 352Jaxtyn#585 → #937
  2. ↓ 259Karsyn#698 → #957
  3. ↓ 231Xzavier#976 → #1,207
  4. ↓ 208Tristen#846 → #1,054
  5. ↓ 208Willie#992 → #1,200

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

See the top 100 for 2021 →