How rare is the name Wes?

9,923 people in the United States have the first name Wes, about 1 in 30,438. It ranks #2,481 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

WES

#2,481

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
9,923
About
1 in 30,438
This common or more
79.9%
Who bears it

Of the 9,923 people named Wes, 84.6% reported their origin as White, 4% as Hispanic or Latino and 3.8% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Wes peaked in 2025, when 376 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
376
In 2025*
376
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 6,786 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.

Wes by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #1,672. The largest share of babies named Wes, 43.7%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#2,20423
1910s#8,35719
1920s#8,29739
1930s#6,49551
1940s#3,839160
1950s#2,435485
1960s#1,7121,110
1970s#2,725571
1980s#4,006392
1990s#7,383228
2000s#5,503480
2010s#2,8191,397
2020s#1,6721,831
Before 19010.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–270.7%
Silent Generation 1928–451.9%
Baby boom 1946–6418.5%
Generation X 1965–8015.5%
Millennials 1981–967.4%
Generation Z 1997–1211.9%
2013 and later43.7%

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 Wes is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Wes has been most common in Utah (4×), California (2.3×), and Louisiana (2.1×), and least common in Indiana (0.38×).

3,484 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 Wes

#2,479 Ryland · 9,931#2,479 Skyla · 9,931#2,482 Joslyn · 9,915#2,483 Sergey · 9,907

Spelled almost the same

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

#21,849 Wess · 461

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