Recorded 1891–2025 · United States
Edison was most popular in 2018, when 554 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,065 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,791, with 276 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 12,738 people named Edison.
Edison first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1891, which makes it about 134 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 133 of the 135 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 12,738 American births named Edison 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 10,088 are estimated to be alive today.
276 American babies were named Edison in 2025, ranking #1,791 that year.
Edison is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 346 births a year, against 360 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -4% 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 Edison is a boy’s name — 1.7% of the 12,738 Americans given it were girls and 98.3% 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 10,088 Americans named Edison are alive today — 79% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 13 years old, and half are between 7 and 24.
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 Edison on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org