Anson
Masculine · “son of Agnes”
Anson is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 7,932 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Anson is son of Agnes or of Anne — a metronymic surname, formed from a mother's name, which English produced far less often than the father-based kind.
How old is the name Anson?
Anson was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Anson alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 6,800 people named Anson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anson most popular?
Anson peaked in 1881, reaching #595 nationally. Today it ranks #1728, 1,133 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Agnes to Anson
The story of Anson
Anson was an English surname carried by Admiral George Anson, who circumnavigated the globe between 1740 and 1744, losing most of his men and capturing a Spanish treasure galleon. The surname entered American given-name use in the nineteenth century and appears in the registers in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
son of Agnes; son of Anne
The surname is generally read as a metronymic from Agnes, from the Greek hagnos, 'pure' — or from Anne, from the Hebrew channah, 'grace'. A third reading takes it from Hann, a pet form of John. All are documented and none is settled.
How the name formed
- Agnes
- Anson
Related forms: Annson · Hanson
Pronouncing Anson
AN-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Anson
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2017295 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #595reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −40.5%94 in 2025, from 158
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Anson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Annson in English — spelling variant
- Hanson in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Ansons among us
people named Anson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 18,171 born in 2025 was named Anson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Anson sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Anson is headed
Anson is easing off slowly — about 16% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Anson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The metronymic construction — son of a mother — is genuinely uncommon in English.
- An admiral with a remarkable circumnavigation carries the surname.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The origin is genuinely split three ways.
- It reads as a surname before it reads as a given name.
- Hanson and Anson are close enough to cause confusion.
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What they receive
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Anson
Masculine · #1728 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ansons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,800 people named Anson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anson in 2025?
- Anson ranks #1728 among US boy names in 2025, with 94 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anson?
- About 1 in every 18,171 US boys born in 2025 was named Anson — 94 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anson with classmates?
- Anson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Clinton#1728 · Bentlee#1728 · Eder#1728 · Fredrick#1728 · Jahir#1728 · Kain#1728 · Wilmer#1728 · Simcha#1728
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anson? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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