Basil

#5,410 for girls in 2025, 23 births · #2,020 for boys in 2025, 74 births
Given to boys 97.3% of the time

Showing

GirlsBoys

Peak · boys: #321
1897 · 33 births
Debut · boys: 1880
11 births
In top 100 · boys: never
of 146 years
Total births · boys: 13,172
since 1880

Basil over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Basil has never cracked the top 300 here.

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	#5,410	23	#2,020	74
2024	#6,167	19	#2,012	76
2023	#5,248	24	#2,032	74
2022	#4,793	28	#1,826	88
2021	#4,607	29	#2,000	74
2020	#6,325	18	#2,323	58
2019	#4,773	28	#2,042	71
2018	#5,007	26	#2,065	69
2017	#5,191	25	#2,240	59
2016	#5,796	22	#2,228	60
2015	#7,266	16	#2,429	52
2014	#6,987	17	#2,705	44
2013	#6,017	21	#2,278	56
2012	#6,110	21	#2,632	46
2011	#13,347	7	#2,699	44
2010	#9,790	11	#2,579	47
2009	#13,704	7	#2,287	57
2008	#17,504	5	#3,486	31
2007	—		#2,257	58
2006	#13,606	7	#2,062	64
2005	—		#2,399	48
2004	—		#2,599	41
2003	—		#2,006	57
2002	—		#1,943	57
2001	—		#1,841	60
2000	—		#1,742	64
1999	—		#1,778	56
1998	—		#1,585	66
1997	—		#1,773	54
1996	—		#1,421	73
1995	—		#1,477	65
1994	—		#1,383	71
1993	—		#1,420	67
1992	—		#1,321	73
1991	—		#1,382	67
1990	—		#1,336	69
1989	—		#1,615	49
1988	—		#1,319	61
1987	—		#1,248	61
1986	—		#1,153	67
1985	—		#1,485	45
1984	—		#1,422	45
1983	—		#1,000	78
1982	—		#1,254	55
1981	—		#1,294	51
1980	—		#1,176	60
1979	—		#1,270	52
1978	—		#1,214	54
1977	—		#1,099	62
1976	—		#1,210	51
1975	—		#1,099	58
1974	—		#1,198	48
1973	—		#1,074	57
1972	—		#1,000	65
1971	—		#998	66
1970	—		#1,016	64
1969	—		#989	60
1968	—		#968	57
1967	—		#848	71
1966	—		#762	92
1965	—		#815	82
1964	—		#784	92
1963	—		#763	101
1962	—		#779	95
1961	—		#720	113
1960	—		#733	110
1959	—		#735	109
1958	—		#732	103
1957	—		#772	95
1956	—		#718	104
1955	—		#720	103
1954	—		#682	112
1953	—		#616	139
1952	—		#688	103
1951	—		#668	109
1950	—		#658	113
1949	—		#649	111
1948	—		#629	116
1947	—		#535	158
1946	—		#592	117
1945	—		#603	101
1944	—		#564	117
1943	—		#544	132
1942	—		#472	169
1941	—		#513	132
1940	—		#487	140
1939	—		#495	135
1938	—		#460	157
1937	—		#463	145
1936	—		#401	189
1935	—		#417	175
1934	—		#447	159
1933	—		#413	172
1932	—		#396	200
1931	—		#454	154
1930	—		#386	219
1929	—		#373	238
1928	—		#431	191
1927	#4,805	5	#371	249
1926	—		#385	232
1925	—		#370	259
1924	—		#354	281
1923	—		#379	245
1922	—		#382	247
1921	—		#374	266
1920	—		#383	243
1919	#3,817	7	#352	262
1918	—		#387	239
1917	—		#379	221
1916	—		#341	244
1915	—		#339	243
1914	—		#375	161
1913	—		#387	120
1912	—		#359	114
1911	—		#328	69
1910	—		#383	46
1909	—		#403	37
1908	—		#365	39
1907	—		#351	39
1906	—		#378	32
1905	—		#384	30
1904	—		#328	37
1903	—		#411	23
1902	—		#348	32
1901	—		#347	28
1900	—		#357	37
1899	—		#336	28
1898	—		#377	27
1897	—		#321	33
1896	—		#323	34
1895	—		#414	22
1894	—		#349	27
1893	—		#383	22
1892	—		#404	22
1891	—		#524	12
1890	—		#434	17
1889	—		#464	16
1888	—		#416	20
1887	—		#488	13
1886	—		#605	10
1885	—		#498	14
1884	—		#570	11
1883	—		#677	8
1882	—		#540	12
1881	—		#595	9
1880	—		#571	11

First appearance

1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Basil was already there! It came in at #571, and was given to 11 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1880–1884, when fewer than 13 boys a year got the name.

See more about Basil

Momentum · boys

Holding steady

8 spots since 2024 (#2,012 → #2,020)
303 spots since 2020 (#2,323 → #2,020)
409 spots since 2015 (#2,429 → #2,020)
Biggest jump: 254 spots in 1983 (#1,254 → #1,000)
Biggest drop: 422 spots in 1984 (#1,000 → #1,422)

Rise & fade · boys

17 yrs to peak

Debuted 1880
Peaked 1897 at #321 (33 births)
Not yet halved from its peak

Top of the charts · boys

Top 1,000 for 93 yrs

Top 10: never
Top 100: never
Top 1,000: 93 yrs · run 1880–1969

Share of babies · boys

1 in 3,275

Highest: 1 in 3,275 boys born in 1911 were named Basil (0.03%)
Latest: 1 in 23,082 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
Its best rank, #321 in 1897, was only 1 in 3,417 (0.03%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year

Era · boys

The 1920s

18.6% of all boys named Basil (2,451) were born in this decade

Show by decade

Decade	Births	Best rank	Avg rank
1880s	124	#416 (1888)	#542
1890s	244	#321 (1897)	#387
1900s	334	#328 (1904)	#367
1910s	1,719	#328 (1911)	#363
1920s	2,451	#354 (1924)	#380
1930s	1,705	#386 (1930)	#433
1940s	1,293	#472 (1942)	#559
1950s	1,090	#616 (1953)	#699
1960s	873	#720 (1961)	#816
1970s	577	#998 (1971)	#1,118
1980s	572	#1,000 (1983)	#1,297
1990s	661	#1,321 (1992)	#1,488
2000s	537	#1,742 (2000)	#2,262
2010s	548	#2,042 (2019)	#2,390
2020s	444	#1,826 (2022)	#2,036

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.

Basil in 1981

boys

#1,294

51 births · 1 in 35,121 boys

Top boys' names in 1981

#1Michael68,750
#2Christopher50,221
#3Matthew43,330
#4Jason41,927
#5David40,629
#6Joshua39,024
#7James38,283
#8John34,868
#9Robert34,395
#10Daniel30,985
⋯
#1,294Basil51

More about 1981

boys

1,791,177 boys got a published name in 1981; 1 in 35,121 of them was named Basil, which outranked 82.2% of the 7,289 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Basil

#1,270Tavaris52
#1,270Torrence52
#1,270Weldon52
#1,294Basil51
#1,294Corwin51
#1,294Dontay51
#1,294Douglass51
#1,309Abner50
#1,309Antwaun50
#1,309Cain50

Tied with 14 names at #1,294; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1980

Risers

↑ 1,321Marchello#2,162 → #841
↑ 1,104Skylar#2,058 → #954
↑ 816Kellen#1,432 → #616
↑ 499Marcello#1,291 → #792
↑ 456Tyrel#1,089 → #633

Fallers

↓ 306Kenyatta#871 → #1,177
↓ 284Seneca#718 → #1,002
↓ 247Kimberly#989 → #1,236
↓ 216Chadd#927 → #1,143
↓ 214Levar#911 → #1,125

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

See the top 100 for 1981 →