How rare is the name Ted?

49,170 people in the United States have the first name Ted, about 1 in 6,143. It ranks #917 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

TED

#917

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
49,170
About
1 in 6,143
This common or more
68.8%
Who bears it

Of the 49,170 people named Ted, 82.3% reported their origin as White, 5.2% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 5.1% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Ted peaked in 1958, when 1,748 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1958
Births that year
1,748
In 2025*
37 ▼98%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 75,424 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.

Ted by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #329. The largest share of babies named Ted, 38.3%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#1,029143
1890s#955247
1900s#534947
1910s#5073,551
1920s#4586,927
1930s#32910,575
1940s#33713,052
1950s#39914,739
1960s#43513,565
1970s#7305,462
1980s#1,1333,018
1990s#2,0001,586
2000s#4,023764
2010s#4,904610
2020s#6,586238
Before 19010.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–2712.8%
Silent Generation 1928–4525.6%
Baby boom 1946–6438.3%
Generation X 1965–8014.9%
Millennials 1981–965.2%
Generation Z 1997–121.8%
2013 and later0.8%

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 Ted is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ted has been most common in Idaho (2.5×), Montana (2.3×), and Utah (2×), and least common in Maine (0.21×).

69,900 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 Ted

#915 Aimee · 49,383#916 Dwight · 49,320#918 Janelle · 48,979#919 Reese · 48,829

Spelled almost the same

3 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ted, most common first.

#10,753 Tedd · 1,223#20,316 Tedi · 510#45,337 Tedy · 150

Compare