Walter

Last seen for girls in 1995 at #11,783 · #251 for boys in 2025, 1,381 births
Given to boys 99.4% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#10
1914 · 8,962 births
Debut · boys
1880
1,755 births
In top 100 · boys
93 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
631,172
since 1880

Walter over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201941peak #10, 1914boys
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—#2511,381
2024—#2711,269
2023—#2671,276
2022—#2681,278
2021—#2711,281
2020—#2721,240
2019—#2781,282
2018—#2711,313
2017—#2651,366
2016—#3021,172
2015—#3091,158
2014—#337987
2013—#342939
2012—#375805
2011—#374801
2010—#372784
2009—#383789
2008—#393764
2007—#379810
2006—#356850
2005—#374770
2004—#364767
2003—#354775
2002—#330833
2001—#335826
2000—#308949
1999—#310918
1998—#311896
1997—#2731,027
1996—#2721,035
1995#11,7836#2651,062
1994#10,5697#2501,152
1993#9,5598#2201,356
1992#8,06510#2181,421
1991—#1991,539
1990#10,1937#1911,614
1989#10,8476#1841,612
1988#3,89323#1751,610
1987#4,12220#1741,574
1986#6,61210#1561,715
1985#3,98320#1631,690
1984#6,8109#1611,689
1983#6,21210#1541,767
1982#4,02519#1471,912
1981#4,34417#1381,990
1980#4,51716#1372,009
1979#3,54122#1282,123
1978#3,38822#1311,991
1977#4,94213#1232,185
1976#3,40720#1272,101
1975#2,96924#1122,355
1974#5,01111#1042,487
1973#3,78716#1012,626
1972#2,39830#982,918
1971#2,66527#913,356
1970#2,39531#893,584
1969#2,51527#843,569
1968#2,24629#833,589
1967#2,55823#813,808
1966#2,45324#834,057
1965#2,93818#824,483
1964#3,37915#804,843
1963#2,21129#775,068
1962#1,98934#795,282
1961#1,92136#745,467
1960#2,06131#705,763
1959#1,85236#666,128
1958#1,85635#636,316
1957#2,02829#586,707
1956#1,79635#537,019
1955#1,73336#517,299
1954#1,76934#497,486
1953#1,73833#457,509
1952#1,97826#447,897
1951#1,70132#428,038
1950#1,55036#407,798
1949#1,73630#378,297
1948#1,77828#358,627
1947#1,57636#349,218
1946#1,31843#308,668
1945#1,54328#277,574
1944#1,18844#268,159
1943#1,18147#269,035
1942#1,18045#268,682
1941#1,22238#267,745
1940#1,17039#257,723
1939#98751#257,322
1938#1,15939#267,560
1937#98151#267,488
1936#1,18636#267,536
1935#91257#237,816
1934#87161#218,092
1933#90456#217,756
1932#78175#218,667
1931#80671#208,940
1930#76884#199,731
1929#698100#199,850
1928#75689#1810,651
1927#73993#1711,346
1926#74892#1711,774
1925#736100#1612,130
1924#80486#1612,696
1923#82878#1612,433
1922#79883#1512,631
1921#85774#1513,004
1920#87269#1313,294
1919#85866#1112,879
1918#79680#1113,338
1917#79276#1112,582
1916#78974#1111,760
1915#88555#1111,255
1914#97237#108,962
1913#83040#116,890
1912#79539#115,809
1911#1,37212#123,074
1910#1,42111#132,596
1909#1,05215#122,287
1908#1,8626#122,192
1907#81921#122,095
1906#1,10112#121,934
1905#1,2989#121,902
1904#1,00113#121,873
1903#96913#121,840
1902#1,02412#121,858
1901#79517#121,718
1900#1,17111#122,298
1899#1,3946#121,750
1898#1,04711#132,002
1897#76117#121,895
1896#1,1229#132,017
1895#98611#132,015
1894#71917#132,010
1893#76715#132,004
1892#95810#132,229
1891#89310#131,668
1890#79112#131,905
1889#9029#131,916
1888#1,2765#132,040
1887—#131,704
1886#69311#131,880
1885#8427#131,808
1884#8517#131,902
1883#9205#131,705
1882#7407#131,805
1881#50311#131,670
1880#6288#131,755
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Walter was already there! It came in at #13, and was given to 1,755 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1995–2014, when fewer than 1,100 boys a year got the name.

Where Walter is popular in 1941

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #22 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 57 boysAKMaine: #33 for boys · 51 births · 1 in 133 boysMEVermont: #29 for boys · 24 births · 1 in 110 boysVTNew Hampshire: #29 for boys · 29 births · 1 in 123 boysNHWashington: #39 for boys · 75 births · 1 in 183 boysWAIdaho: #68 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 266 boysIDMontana: #37 for boys · 30 births · 1 in 159 boysMTNorth Dakota: #70 for boys · 19 births · 1 in 297 boysNDMinnesota: #55 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 284 boysMNIllinois: #31 for boys · 392 births · 1 in 163 boysILWisconsin: #44 for boys · 111 births · 1 in 239 boysWIMichigan: #37 for boys · 255 births · 1 in 196 boysMINew York: #27 for boys · 712 births · 1 in 141 boysNYMassachusetts: #26 for boys · 287 births · 1 in 116 boysMARhode Island: #27 for boys · 42 births · 1 in 118 boysRIOregon: #31 for boys · 51 births · 1 in 164 boysORNevada: #34 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 115 boysNVWyoming: #28 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 113 boysWYSouth Dakota: #72 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 343 boysSDIowa: #53 for boys · 76 births · 1 in 284 boysIAIndiana: #33 for boys · 167 births · 1 in 180 boysINOhio: #35 for boys · 295 births · 1 in 202 boysOHPennsylvania: #23 for boys · 682 births · 1 in 119 boysPANew Jersey: #21 for boys · 346 births · 1 in 88 boysNJConnecticut: #29 for boys · 98 births · 1 in 132 boysCTCalifornia: #44 for boys · 282 births · 1 in 208 boysCAUtah: #58 for boys · 22 births · 1 in 265 boysUTColorado: #57 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 279 boysCONebraska: #63 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 285 boysNEMissouri: #38 for boys · 155 births · 1 in 200 boysMOKentucky: #30 for boys · 166 births · 1 in 171 boysKYWest Virginia: #32 for boys · 113 births · 1 in 176 boysWVVirginia: #24 for boys · 202 births · 1 in 127 boysVAMaryland: #25 for boys · 117 births · 1 in 130 boysMDDelaware: #22 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 114 boysDEArizona: #50 for boys · 26 births · 1 in 199 boysAZNew Mexico: #61 for boys · 26 births · 1 in 232 boysNMKansas: #52 for boys · 56 births · 1 in 242 boysKSArkansas: #30 for boys · 124 births · 1 in 159 boysARTennessee: #25 for boys · 217 births · 1 in 137 boysTNNorth Carolina: #19 for boys · 362 births · 1 in 107 boysNCSouth Carolina: #25 for boys · 183 births · 1 in 119 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #21 for boys · 66 births · 1 in 114 boysDCOklahoma: #43 for boys · 105 births · 1 in 207 boysOKLouisiana: #32 for boys · 167 births · 1 in 146 boysLAMississippi: #14 for boys · 267 births · 1 in 83 boysMSAlabama: #23 for boys · 269 births · 1 in 109 boysALGeorgia: #21 for boys · 323 births · 1 in 100 boysGAHawaii: #26 for boys · 40 births · 1 in 98 boysHITexas: #39 for boys · 333 births · 1 in 200 boysTXFlorida: #21 for boys · 143 births · 1 in 116 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Mississippi#14 · 1 in 83
  2. North Carolina#19 · 1 in 107
  3. New Jersey#21 · 1 in 88
  4. Georgia#21 · 1 in 100
  5. District of Columbia#21 · 1 in 114

Best ever in a state: #6 in Minnesota, 1910.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Mississippi#142671 in 83
North Carolina#193621 in 107
District of Columbia#21661 in 114
Florida#211431 in 116
Georgia#213231 in 100
New Jersey#213461 in 88
Alaska#2291 in 57
Delaware#22171 in 114
Alabama#232691 in 109
Pennsylvania#236821 in 119
Virginia#242021 in 127
Maryland#251171 in 130
South Carolina#251831 in 119
Tennessee#252171 in 137
Hawaii#26401 in 98
Massachusetts#262871 in 116
New York#277121 in 141
Rhode Island#27421 in 118
Wyoming#28171 in 113
Connecticut#29981 in 132
New Hampshire#29291 in 123
Vermont#29241 in 110
Arkansas#301241 in 159
Kentucky#301661 in 171
Illinois#313921 in 163
Oregon#31511 in 164
Louisiana#321671 in 146
West Virginia#321131 in 176
Indiana#331671 in 180
Maine#33511 in 133
Nevada#3461 in 115
Ohio#352951 in 202
Michigan#372551 in 196
Montana#37301 in 159
Missouri#381551 in 200
Texas#393331 in 200
Washington#39751 in 183
Oklahoma#431051 in 207
California#442821 in 208
Wisconsin#441111 in 239
Arizona#50261 in 199
Kansas#52561 in 242
Iowa#53761 in 284
Minnesota#55871 in 284
Colorado#57351 in 279
Utah#58221 in 265
New Mexico#61261 in 232
Nebraska#63351 in 285
Idaho#68181 in 266
North Dakota#70191 in 297
South Dakota#72151 in 343

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 Walter
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 20 spots since 2024 (#271 → #251)
  • 21 spots since 2020 (#272 → #251)
  • 58 spots since 2015 (#309 → #251)
  • Biggest jump: 37 spots in 2017 (#302 → #265)
  • Biggest drop: 38 spots in 1998 (#273 → #311)
Rise & fade · boys
34 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1914 at #10 (8,962 births)
  • Births halved by 1966, 52 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 1 yr
  • Top 10: 1 yr · 1914
  • Top 100: 93 yrs · run 1880–1972
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 55
  • Highest: 1 in 55 boys born in 1892 were named Walter (1.8%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,237 boys born in 2025 (0.08%)
  • Its best rank, #10 in 1914, was only 1 in 73 (1.4%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1920s
  • 19.0% of all boys named Walter (119,809) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s18,185#13 (1888)#13
1890s19,495#12 (1897)#13
1900s19,997#12 (1900)#12
1910s89,145#10 (1914)#11
1920s119,809#13 (1920)#16
1930s80,908#19 (1930)#23
1940s83,728#25 (1940)#29
1950s72,197#40 (1950)#51
1960s45,929#70 (1960)#79
1970s25,726#89 (1970)#110
1980s17,568#137 (1980)#159
1990s12,020#191 (1990)#251
2000s8,133#308 (2000)#358
2010s10,607#265 (2017)#323
2020s7,725#251 (2025)#267

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.

Walter in 1941

girls
#1,222
38 births · 1 in 31,793 girls
boys
#26
7,745 births · 1 in 159 boys

Top girls' names in 1941

  1. #1Mary58,048
  2. #2Barbara39,543
  3. #3Patricia36,905
  4. #4Carol24,187
  5. #5Linda23,721
  6. #6Judith23,320
  7. #7Betty20,905
  8. #8Nancy20,885
  9. #9Sandra19,500
  10. #10Shirley16,954
  11. #1,222Walter38

Top boys' names in 1941

  1. #1James66,751
  2. #2Robert64,247
  3. #3John57,520
  4. #4William47,798
  5. #5Richard39,112
  6. #6Charles32,742
  7. #7David30,553
  8. #8Thomas26,641
  9. #9Ronald24,407
  10. #10Donald22,641
  11. #26Walter7,745
More about 1941

girls

1,208,119 girls got a published name in 1941; 1 in 31,793 of them was named Walter, which outranked 76.0% of the 5,085 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Walter
  1. #1,206Rosalinda39
  2. #1,206Vina39
  3. #1,206Viva39
  4. #1,222Walter38
  5. #1,222Adella38
  6. #1,222Annemarie38
  7. #1,222Carlyn38
  8. #1,243Catalina37
  9. #1,243Charla37
  10. #1,243Deirdre37

Tied with 20 names at #1,222; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1940
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,130Jerilyn#2,737 → #607
  2. ↑ 1,258Trina#2,109 → #851
  3. ↑ 372Karan#1,347 → #975
  4. ↑ 371Kristine#1,313 → #942
  5. ↑ 356Sherri#1,186 → #830
Fallers
  1. ↓ 447Kenneth#971 → #1,418
  2. ↓ 421Janna#997 → #1,418
  3. ↓ 366Beatriz#989 → #1,355
  4. ↓ 338Merna#997 → #1,335
  5. ↓ 337Eldora#957 → #1,294

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

boys

1,228,318 boys got a published name in 1941; 1 in 159 of them was named Walter, which outranked 99.4% of the 4,002 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Walter
  1. #23Dennis9,562
  2. #24Harold8,102
  3. #25Roger8,095
  4. #26Walter7,745
  5. #27Billy7,655
  6. #28Henry7,165
  7. #29Carl7,160
Biggest movers since 1940
Risers
  1. ↑ 586Gay#1,573 → #987
  2. ↑ 375Issac#1,251 → #876
  3. ↑ 363Otho#1,334 → #971
  4. ↑ 338Lawrance#1,208 → #870
  5. ↑ 313Ford#1,251 → #938
Fallers
  1. ↓ 508Wilkie#792 → #1,300
  2. ↓ 452Arlis#994 → #1,446
  3. ↓ 394Ruby#939 → #1,333
  4. ↓ 359Gonzalo#850 → #1,209
  5. ↓ 325Lenord#929 → #1,254

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

See the top 100 for 1941 →