Recorded 1882–2025 · United States
German was most popular in 1991, when 304 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,265 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,277, with 112 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 10,295 people named German.
German first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1882, which makes it about 143 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 118 of the 144 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 10,295 American births named German 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 9,527 are estimated to be alive today.
112 American babies were named German in 2025, ranking #3,277 that year.
German is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 115 births a year, against 156 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -26% 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 German is a boy’s name — 0.1% of the 10,295 Americans given it were girls and 100.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% 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 9,527 Americans named German are alive today — 93% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 27 years old, and half are between 17 and 37.
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 German on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org