Recorded 1881–2025 · United States
Dale was most popular in 1958, when 9,087 American babies were given the name — ranking #90 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,895, with 134 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 300,043 people named Dale.
Dale first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1881, which makes it about 144 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 145 of the 145 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 300,043 American births named Dale 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 174,677 are estimated to be alive today.
134 American babies were named Dale in 2025, ranking #2,895 that year.
Dale is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 134 births a year, against 170 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -21% 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 Dale is mostly a boy’s name — 7.3% of the 300,043 Americans given it were girls and 92.7% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 3% girls and 97% 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 174,677 Americans named Dale are alive today — 58% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 67 years old, and half are between 58 and 74.
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.
Old English · "valley"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Dale on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org