Watson

#14,942 for girls in 2025, 5 births · #1,008 for boys in 2025, 224 births
Given to boys 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#389
1882 · 21 births
Debut · boys
1880
12 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
6,699
since 1880

Watson over time

boys

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

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201918peak #389, 1882boys
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#14,9425#1,008224
2024—#866279
2023—#804306
2022—#729356
2021—#597466
2020#13,4536#603454
2019#15,5395#694362
2018#13,7936#713340
2017—#1,020198
2016—#1,433121
2015—#1,406122
2014—#1,65793
2013—#2,13962
2012—#1,79982
2011—#2,74843
2010—#3,12836
2009—#5,10218
2008—#4,14524
2007—#4,24323
2006—#3,78226
2005—#3,09133
2004—#3,63625
2003—#4,27619
2002—#4,04420
2001—#4,30218
2000—#5,29713
1999—#3,18225
1998—#3,70819
1997—#4,05916
1996—#5,18711
1995—#4,28014
1994—#3,75117
1993—#4,22714
1992—#4,11414
1991—#5,9428
1990—#3,46717
1989—#4,27112
1988—#3,52314
1987—#3,52113
1986—#3,13115
1985—#3,07015
1984—#3,27013
1983—#3,23013
1982—#2,70917
1981—#3,60111
1980—#5,5256
1979—#4,4038
1978—#5,0596
1977—#3,60610
1976—#4,4187
1975—#3,42810
1974—#2,79913
1973—#2,60614
1972—#2,53414
1971—#3,3709
1970—#2,50914
1969—#2,68211
1968—#2,31113
1967—#3,2317
1966—#2,46511
1965—#2,47611
1964—#1,85019
1963—#1,69522
1962—#2,36412
1961—#1,52128
1960—#1,81220
1959—#1,91618
1958—#1,95317
1957—#1,63424
1956—#1,51127
1955—#1,37031
1954—#1,52525
1953—#1,26135
1952—#1,61522
1951—#1,43027
1950—#1,49924
1949—#1,29731
1948—#1,23134
1947—#1,21336
1946—#1,21733
1945—#1,13933
1944—#1,37024
1943—#1,17034
1942—#1,35826
1941—#95145
1940—#1,05038
1939—#99241
1938—#1,00940
1937—#1,21230
1936—#94942
1935—#1,14833
1934—#1,32326
1933—#92646
1932—#1,15734
1931—#97446
1930—#1,15137
1929—#1,17335
1928—#1,38228
1927—#96452
1926—#99248
1925—#88258
1924—#86563
1923—#89658
1922—#83067
1921—#80471
1920—#91157
1919—#78368
1918—#68483
1917—#80461
1916—#68575
1915—#68172
1914—#65859
1913—#69643
1912—#71336
1911—#68921
1910—#56925
1909—#84012
1908—#65716
1907—#9309
1906—#67413
1905—#69912
1904—#64713
1903—#9107
1902—#58314
1901—#53614
1900—#69913
1899—#58312
1898—#61113
1897—#51515
1896—#40024
1895—#60912
1894—#66810
1893——
1892—#49716
1891—#52412
1890—#56612
1889—#7228
1888—#64810
1887—#6798
1886—#9595
1885—#8366
1884—#57011
1883—#47914
1882—#38921
1881—#56310
1880—#52612
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Watson was already there! It came in at #526, and was given to 12 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1893, when fewer than 5 boys a year got the name.

See more about Watson
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 142 spots since 2024 (#866 → #1,008)
  • 405 spots since 2020 (#603 → #1,008)
  • 398 spots since 2015 (#1,406 → #1,008)
  • Biggest jump: 307 spots in 2018 (#1,020 → #713)
  • Biggest drop: 418 spots in 1928 (#964 → #1,382)
Rise & fade · boys
2 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1882 at #389 (21 births)
  • Births halved by 1885, 3 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 59 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 59 yrs · run 1894–1927
Share of babies · boys
1 in 3,754
  • Highest: 1 in 3,754 boys born in 2021 were named Watson (0.03%)
  • Latest: 1 in 7,625 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
  • Its best rank, #389 in 1882, was only 1 in 5,414 (0.02%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2020s
  • 31.1% of all boys named Watson (2,085) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s105#389 (1882)#637
1890s126#400 (1896)#553
1900s123#536 (1901)#718
1910s543#569 (1910)#696
1920s537#804 (1921)#970
1930s375#926 (1933)#1,084
1940s334#951 (1941)#1,200
1950s250#1,261 (1953)#1,571
1960s154#1,521 (1961)#2,241
1970s105#2,509 (1970)#3,473
1980s129#2,709 (1982)#3,585
1990s155#3,182 (1999)#4,192
2000s219#3,091 (2005)#4,192
2010s1,459#694 (2019)#1,674
2020s2,085#597 (2021)#768

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.

Watson in 1918

boys
#684
83 births · 1 in 12,211 boys

Top boys' names in 1918

  1. #1John56,558
  2. #2William45,291
  3. #3James42,115
  4. #4Robert40,619
  5. #5Charles26,921
  6. #6George26,318
  7. #7Joseph26,261
  8. #8Edward19,489
  9. #9Frank17,018
  10. #10Thomas13,910
  11. #684Watson83
More about 1918

boys

1,013,480 boys got a published name in 1918; 1 in 12,211 of them was named Watson, which outranked 85.8% of the 4,813 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 31.0% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Watson
  1. #679Franklyn84
  2. #679Norval84
  3. #679Sherwood84
  4. #684Watson83
  5. #684Beverly83
  6. #684Evert83
  7. #684Gaston83
  8. #692Bryant82
  9. #692Crawford82
  10. #692Ellwood82

Tied with 7 names at #684; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1917
Risers
  1. ↑ 600Quinton#1,092 → #492
  2. ↑ 542Pershing#876 → #334
  3. ↑ 480Quentin#723 → #243
  4. ↑ 440Issac#1,264 → #824
  5. ↑ 339Furman#1,092 → #753
Fallers
  1. ↓ 473Bernhard#900 → #1,373
  2. ↓ 424Edson#919 → #1,343
  3. ↓ 394Gasper#919 → #1,313
  4. ↓ 352Berton#934 → #1,286
  5. ↓ 346Ishmael#997 → #1,343

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

See the top 100 for 1918 →