Meanings & themes
Nursery rhyme names
28 names · 16 girls · 12 boys · records through 2025
Nursery rhymes are where most English speakers first encounter a name attached to a person, and the cast is very old: several of these rhymes were in print before the American records began.
This guide has 28 names: 16 girl names and 12 boy names. A curated set of nursery-rhyme character names matched against the latest US records; only names in real use appear. Built from US Social Security birth records through 2025. Tap + beside any name to keep it on your shortlist as you read.
Before the names
The names are correspondingly durable. Jack, Mary, Peter, Molly and Jane have been in continuous use for the entire length of the data — no revival needed.
Each name below is verified in the current records, with its live rank.
Girl names
16 names
Boy names
12 names
- Jack#15 today
- Michael#21 today
- Peter#187 today
- Simon#230 today
- Bo#449 today
- Johnny#457 today
- Gregory#593 today
- Tommy#657 today
- Robin#703 today
- Roger#832 today
- Jerry#906 today
- Bobby#1097 today
Every rank and count here is published by the US Social Security Administration and refreshed each year when the new figures land. The method is stated at the top of this page.
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