Recorded 1885–2025 · United States
China was most popular in 1992, when 245 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,447 that year. In 2025 it ranked #18,449, with 8 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 4,618 people named China.
China first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1885, which makes it about 140 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 118 of the 141 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 4,618 American births named China between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 4,234 are estimated to be alive today.
8 American babies were named China in 2025, ranking #18,449 that year.
China is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 9 births a year, against 43 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -79% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record China is a girl’s name — 99.8% of the 4,618 Americans given it were girls and 0.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 4,234 Americans named China are alive today — 92% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 32 years old, and half are between 27 and 38. That is a narrow band: China arrived and faded within about a decade rather than staying in steady use.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See China on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org