How rare is the name Duke?

8,029 people in the United States have the first name Duke, about 1 in 37,618. It ranks #2,867 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

DUKE

#2,867

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
8,029
About
1 in 37,618
This common or more
81.1%
Who bears it

Of the 8,029 people named Duke, 61.9% reported their origin as White, 11.6% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 10.5% as Black. 99.3% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Duke peaked in 2018, when 529 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2018
Births that year
529
In 2025*
390 ▼26%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 11,595 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Duke by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #1,378. The largest share of babies named Duke, 48.8%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#1,94335
1890s#1,93967
1900s#2,29671
1910s#2,197276
1920s#2,373362
1930s#2,269344
1940s#2,235429
1950s#1,910780
1960s#2,030795
1970s#2,780553
1980s#3,677450
1990s#3,928566
2000s#4,056756
2010s#1,4303,699
2020s#1,3782,412
Before 19011%
Greatest Generation 1901–275.5%
Silent Generation 1928–455.6%
Baby boom 1946–6412.1%
Generation X 1965–808.3%
Millennials 1981–967%
Generation Z 1997–1211.8%
2013 and later48.8%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Duke is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Duke has been most common in Hawaii (15×), Utah (3.1×), and Nevada (2.3×), and least common in Alabama (0.28×).

7,003 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Duke

#2,865 Merry · 8,030#2,865 Myah · 8,030#2,868 Cristy · 8,027#2,869 Claudine · 8,026

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Duke, most common first.

#16,680 Duk · 672

Also a last name

As a last name, Duke ranks #1,036 of 156,621, with 33,324 people. See Duke as a last name

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