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#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202022boysat 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 2022

  • 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: #801 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 4,748 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: #828 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 4,986 boysMNIllinois: #1,283 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 10,352 boysILWisconsin: #614 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 3,380 boysWIMichigan: #821 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 5,188 boysMINew York: #1,215 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 9,686 boysNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedRIOregon: #594 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 3,056 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: #702 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 4,028 boysINOhio: #702 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 4,425 boysOHPennsylvania: #699 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 4,461 boysPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #621 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 4,024 boysCAUtah: #432 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 1,894 boysUTColorado: #456 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 2,121 boysCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNEMissouri: #776 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 4,662 boysMOKentucky: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedWVVirginia: #771 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 4,799 boysVAMaryland: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedDEArizona: #627 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 3,626 boysAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedNMKansas: #569 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 2,733 boysKSArkansas: #486 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 2,101 boysARTennessee: #754 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 4,489 boysTNNorth Carolina: #869 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 5,662 boysNCSouth Carolina: #523 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 2,563 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #404 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 1,613 boysOKLouisiana: 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: #857 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 5,123 boysGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Bear, so not publishedHITexas: #740 for boys · 37 births · 1 in 4,830 boysTXFlorida: #725 for boys · 20 births · 1 in 4,767 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Oklahoma#404 · 1 in 1,613
  2. Utah#432 · 1 in 1,894
  3. Colorado#456 · 1 in 2,121
  4. Arkansas#486 · 1 in 2,101
  5. South Carolina#523 · 1 in 2,563

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Oklahoma#404111 in 1,613
Utah#432101 in 1,894
Colorado#456121 in 2,121
Arkansas#48661 in 2,101
South Carolina#52381 in 2,563
Kansas#56951 in 2,733
Oregon#59451 in 3,056
Wisconsin#61471 in 3,380
California#621471 in 4,024
Arizona#62791 in 3,626
Pennsylvania#699121 in 4,461
Indiana#70281 in 4,028
Ohio#702121 in 4,425
Florida#725201 in 4,767
Texas#740371 in 4,830
Tennessee#75481 in 4,489
Virginia#77181 in 4,799
Missouri#77661 in 4,662
Washington#80171 in 4,748
Michigan#82181 in 5,188
Minnesota#82851 in 4,986
Georgia#857101 in 5,123
North Carolina#86991 in 5,662
New York#1,21591 in 9,686
Illinois#1,28351 in 10,352
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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 2022

boys
#760
332 births · 1 in 5,259 boys

Top boys' names in 2022

  1. #1Liam20,579
  2. #2Noah18,758
  3. #3Oliver15,176
  4. #4James12,119
  5. #5Elijah12,094
  6. #6William11,356
  7. #7Henry11,272
  8. #8Lucas10,973
  9. #9Benjamin10,912
  10. #10Theodore10,824
  11. #760Bear332
More about 2022

boys

1,746,008 boys got a published name in 2022; 1 in 5,259 of them was named Bear, which outranked 94.7% of the 14,333 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Bear
  1. #757Quinton335
  2. #758Yehuda334
  3. #759Grey333
  4. #760Bear332
  5. #760Jefferson332
  6. #760Kyro332
  7. #760Marcellus332
  8. #765Ben330
  9. #765Neil330
  10. #765Ramon330

Tied with 4 names at #760; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2021
Risers
  1. ↑ 988Dutton#1,823 → #835
  2. ↑ 489Kayce#1,076 → #587
  3. ↑ 412Chosen#1,307 → #895
  4. ↑ 396Khaza#1,230 → #834
  5. ↑ 348Eithan#849 → #501
Fallers
  1. ↓ 324Jacoby#885 → #1,209
  2. ↓ 243Turner#937 → #1,180
  3. ↓ 233Aydin#897 → #1,130
  4. ↓ 218Juelz#991 → #1,209
  5. ↓ 216Jamal#868 → #1,084

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

See the top 100 for 2022 →