Canaan
- #13,208 for girls in 2025, 6 births
- #1,044 for boys in 2025, 212 births
- Given to boys 94.7% of the time
Showing
- Peak · boys
- 2016 · 385 births
- Debut · boys
- 6 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 5,843since 1973
Canaan over time
girlsboys
Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.
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
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | #13,208 | 6 | #1,044 | 212 |
| 2024 | — | #1,082 | 201 | |
| 2023 | #9,616 | 10 | #1,111 | 190 |
| 2022 | #15,306 | 5 | #959 | 236 |
| 2021 | #12,206 | 7 | #954 | 236 |
| 2020 | — | #950 | 231 | |
| 2019 | #10,473 | 9 | #845 | 265 |
| 2018 | #7,100 | 16 | #827 | 270 |
| 2017 | #12,713 | 7 | #745 | 318 |
| 2016 | — | #669 | 385 | |
| 2015 | #8,447 | 13 | #806 | 285 |
| 2014 | #8,966 | 12 | #1,074 | 180 |
| 2013 | #13,150 | 7 | #1,203 | 149 |
| 2012 | #8,208 | 14 | #1,084 | 172 |
| 2011 | #14,824 | 6 | #1,136 | 159 |
| 2010 | #6,641 | 19 | #1,137 | 163 |
| 2009 | #7,679 | 16 | #1,226 | 146 |
| 2008 | #10,084 | 11 | #1,182 | 150 |
| 2007 | #13,924 | 7 | #1,277 | 137 |
| 2006 | #11,417 | 9 | #1,091 | 161 |
| 2005 | #16,462 | 5 | #1,253 | 126 |
| 2004 | #11,624 | 8 | #1,271 | 118 |
| 2003 | #7,580 | 14 | #1,224 | 119 |
| 2002 | #10,246 | 9 | #1,332 | 99 |
| 2001 | #9,351 | 10 | #1,231 | 108 |
| 2000 | #9,874 | 9 | #1,361 | 93 |
| 1999 | #7,239 | 13 | #1,457 | 79 |
| 1998 | #7,104 | 13 | #1,301 | 91 |
| 1997 | #12,070 | 6 | #1,310 | 87 |
| 1996 | #10,567 | 7 | #1,400 | 75 |
| 1995 | #9,553 | 8 | #1,706 | 52 |
| 1994 | #9,586 | 8 | #1,664 | 54 |
| 1993 | #8,719 | 9 | #1,554 | 58 |
| 1992 | #8,065 | 10 | #1,844 | 44 |
| 1991 | — | #1,823 | 43 | |
| 1990 | — | #1,587 | 52 | |
| 1989 | #10,847 | 6 | #2,469 | 26 |
| 1988 | #11,798 | 5 | #2,599 | 22 |
| 1987 | #11,325 | 5 | #2,169 | 27 |
| 1986 | — | #3,131 | 15 | |
| 1985 | — | #2,942 | 16 | |
| 1984 | — | #2,098 | 25 | |
| 1983 | — | #1,687 | 34 | |
| 1982 | — | #2,831 | 16 | |
| 1981 | — | #2,338 | 21 | |
| 1980 | #10,392 | 5 | #2,965 | 15 |
| 1979 | — | #3,018 | 14 | |
| 1978 | — | #3,614 | 10 | |
| 1977 | — | #2,361 | 19 | |
| 1976 | — | #3,264 | 11 | |
| 1975 | — | #3,428 | 10 | |
| 1974 | — | #2,946 | 12 | |
| 1973 | — | #4,505 | 6 | |
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First appearance
1973
The first year at least five boys were named Canaan! It came in at #4,505, and was given to 6 baby boys.
Quietest stretch: 1973, when fewer than 7 boys a year got the name.
Where Canaan is popular in 2025
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
Top states · boys
- Kentucky#450 · 1 in 2,054
- North Carolina#512 · 1 in 2,709
- Virginia#627 · 1 in 3,387
- Tennessee#638 · 1 in 3,343
- Louisiana#672 · 1 in 3,188
Best ever in a state: #228 in West Virginia, 2015.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | #450 | 10 | 1 in 2,054 |
| North Carolina | #512 | 19 | 1 in 2,709 |
| Virginia | #627 | 11 | 1 in 3,387 |
| Tennessee | #638 | 11 | 1 in 3,343 |
| Louisiana | #672 | 6 | 1 in 3,188 |
| Georgia | #673 | 14 | 1 in 3,587 |
| Alabama | #685 | 6 | 1 in 3,586 |
| Oklahoma | #698 | 5 | 1 in 3,536 |
| Maryland | #702 | 6 | 1 in 3,816 |
| Missouri | #709 | 7 | 1 in 3,973 |
| South Carolina | #743 | 5 | 1 in 4,240 |
| Indiana | #844 | 6 | 1 in 5,277 |
| Ohio | #855 | 9 | 1 in 5,837 |
| Illinois | #935 | 8 | 1 in 6,194 |
| Pennsylvania | #1,004 | 7 | 1 in 7,466 |
| Florida | #1,009 | 13 | 1 in 7,349 |
| California | #1,364 | 13 | 1 in 13,498 |
| Texas | #1,415 | 13 | 1 in 13,465 |
| Alaska | — | — | — |
| Arizona | — | — | — |
| Arkansas | — | — | — |
| Colorado | — | — | — |
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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 Canaan
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
- 38 spots since 2024 (#1,082 → #1,044)
- 94 spots since 2020 (#950 → #1,044)
- Biggest jump: 268 spots in 2015
- Biggest drop: 152 spots in 2023
Rise & fade · boys
43 yrs to peak
- Debuted 1973
- Peaked 2016 at #669 (385 births)
- Births halved by 2023, 7 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 8 yrs
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 8 yrs · run 2015–2022
Share of babies · boys
1 in 4,929
- Highest: 1 in 4,929 boys born in 2016 were named Canaan (0.02%)
- Latest: 1 in 8,057 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · boys
The 2010s
- 40.2% of all boys named Canaan (2,346) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Never flipped
- The majority has never changed
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 82 | #2,361 (1977) | #3,305 |
| 1980s | 217 | #1,687 (1983) | #2,523 |
| 1990s | 635 | #1,301 (1998) | #1,565 |
| 2000s | 1,257 | #1,091 (2006) | #1,245 |
| 2010s | 2,346 | #669 (2016) | #953 |
| 2020s | 1,306 | #950 (2020) | #1,017 |
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.
Want to check a specific year?
See where Canaan ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: