Foster

#7,491 for girls in 2025, 14 births · #901 for boys in 2025, 264 births
Given to boys 97.9% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#278
1894 · 40 births
Debut · boys
1880
16 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
13,122
since 1880

Foster over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Foster has never cracked the top 200 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201956peak #278, 1894boys
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#7,49114#901264
2024#5,79921#1,076202
2023#5,12625#966232
2022#6,98416#1,037213
2021#6,69117#1,006217
2020#5,66721#961226
2019#7,34215#945227
2018#8,61712#1,077184
2017#7,09216#936223
2016#9,41111#963214
2015#10,14810#1,032196
2014#9,51711#991209
2013#11,0009#937213
2012#16,8695#993200
2011—#1,544102
2010#16,9925#1,349126
2009—#1,443116
2008#17,5045#1,73687
2007—#1,65093
2006#9,90111#1,51999
2005—#1,61984
2004#16,0995#1,328111
2003—#1,40095
2002—#1,268107
2001—#1,38791
2000#11,8017#1,31498
1999—#1,158113
1998#11,1387#1,172106
1997#10,8367#1,116113
1996—#1,33481
1995#13,3865#1,081109
1994—#1,19293
1993#13,4425#1,32174
1992—#1,52558
1991—#1,61552
1990—#1,63550
1989—#1,85840
1988—#1,70641
1987—#1,65541
1986—#2,09627
1985—#1,52443
1984—#1,76432
1983—#1,65135
1982—#1,65436
1981—#1,66135
1980—#1,80831
1979—#1,46441
1978—#1,65233
1977—#1,33546
1976—#1,46937
1975—#1,34542
1974—#1,69228
1973—#1,43535
1972—#1,68027
1971—#1,63729
1970—#1,29741
1969—#1,60526
1968—#1,11945
1967—#1,16541
1966—#1,29934
1965—#1,06448
1964—#1,02554
1963—#1,19542
1962—#1,00758
1961—#88275
1960—#1,05853
1959—#91969
1958—#92867
1957—#88473
1956—#80486
1955—#86273
1954—#93962
1953—#83973
1952—#78181
1951—#76683
1950—#72190
1949—#664107
1948—#626117
1947—#615122
1946—#68988
1945—#586106
1944—#594107
1943—#581119
1942#4,6225#575116
1941—#62893
1940—#62690
1939—#63686
1938—#559108
1937—#570102
1936—#62886
1935—#534117
1934—#560111
1933—#577100
1932—#59299
1931—#557111
1930—#546121
1929—#543117
1928—#588110
1927—#485155
1926—#465167
1925#4,9735#481159
1924—#472171
1923#4,9675#461176
1922#4,4456#442189
1921—#431199
1920—#418201
1919—#429188
1918—#406212
1917—#426177
1916—#387204
1915—#419166
1914#3,6185#404138
1913—#381122
1912—#39196
1911—#35361
1910—#41542
1909—#40836
1908—#35541
1907—#42929
1906—#32141
1905—#37031
1904—#30042
1903—#36028
1902—#36030
1901—#29136
1900—#41929
1899—#29435
1898—#31637
1897—#29937
1896—#27943
1895—#35827
1894—#27840
1893—#28736
1892—#28441
1891—#29132
1890—#36923
1889—#33827
1888—#35926
1887—#40917
1886—#36922
1885—#34425
1884—#39920
1883—#28932
1882—#29434
1881—#34822
1880—#44216
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Foster was already there! It came in at #442, and was given to 16 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1880–1881, when fewer than 23 boys a year got the name.

See more about Foster
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 175 spots since 2024 (#1,076 → #901)
  • 60 spots since 2020 (#961 → #901)
  • 131 spots since 2015 (#1,032 → #901)
  • Biggest jump: 551 spots in 2012 (#1,544 → #993)
  • Biggest drop: 141 spots in 2018 (#936 → #1,077)
Rise & fade · boys
14 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1894 at #278 (40 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 90 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 90 yrs · run 1880–1959
Share of babies · boys
1 in 2,781
  • Highest: 1 in 2,781 boys born in 1896 were named Foster (0.04%)
  • Latest: 1 in 6,470 boys born in 2025 (0.02%)
  • Its best rank, #278 in 1894, was only 1 in 2,894 (0.03%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2010s
  • 14.4% of all boys named Foster (1,894) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s241#289 (1883)#359
1890s351#278 (1894)#306
1900s343#291 (1901)#361
1910s1,406#353 (1911)#401
1920s1,644#418 (1920)#479
1930s1,041#534 (1935)#576
1940s1,065#575 (1942)#618
1950s757#721 (1950)#844
1960s476#882 (1961)#1,142
1970s359#1,297 (1970)#1,501
1980s361#1,524 (1985)#1,738
1990s849#1,081 (1995)#1,315
2000s981#1,268 (2002)#1,466
2010s1,894#936 (2017)#1,077
2020s1,354#901 (2025)#991

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.

Foster in 1956

boys
#804
86 births · 1 in 24,597 boys

Top boys' names in 1956

  1. #1Michael90,691
  2. #2James84,897
  3. #3Robert83,924
  4. #4David81,652
  5. #5John80,804
  6. #6William58,991
  7. #7Richard52,915
  8. #8Mark48,828
  9. #9Thomas44,836
  10. #10Steven38,413
  11. #804Foster86
More about 1956

boys

2,115,302 boys got a published name in 1956; 1 in 24,597 of them was named Foster, which outranked 82.0% of the 4,455 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 31.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Foster
  1. #796Joaquin87
  2. #796Kevan87
  3. #796Theron87
  4. #804Foster86
  5. #804Houston86
  6. #804Mckinley86
  7. #804Stefan86
  8. #809Benedict85
  9. #809Courtney85
  10. #809Derwin85

Tied with 4 names at #804; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1955
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,847Jace#2,764 → #917
  2. ↑ 678Rich#1,572 → #894
  3. ↑ 590Broderick#1,273 → #683
  4. ↑ 559Elvis#921 → #362
  5. ↑ 513Tracey#1,419 → #906
Fallers
  1. ↓ 351Adolphus#906 → #1,257
  2. ↓ 336Randolf#949 → #1,285
  3. ↓ 279Cordell#792 → #1,071
  4. ↓ 272Rudolfo#885 → #1,157
  5. ↓ 269Aurelio#949 → #1,218

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

See the top 100 for 1956 →