Blaine
Masculine
Blaine is given to both — 33,071 boys and 1,236 girls since 1880. See Blaine as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Blaine began as a Scottish and Irish surname built around Bláán, a sixth-century bishop who founded a church at Kingarth on the Isle of Bute. One syllable, spelled the way it sounds, it has been on American birth records for as long as those records have existed, without ever crowding a classroom.
How old is the name Blaine?
Blaine was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Blaine alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 26,500 people named Blaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Blaine most popular?
Blaine peaked in 1884, reaching #209 nationally. Today it ranks #991, 782 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Bláán to Blaine
The story of Blaine
Bláán was a real cleric of the sixth century, remembered at Kingarth on Bute, and Scottish and Irish families took his name into theirs — Mac Giolla Bhláin, later smoothed to Blane and Blaine. Emigration carried the surname to North America, where it did what many Scots-Irish surnames did in the nineteenth century: it stepped forward and became a first name. Its early prominence in American records lines up with the public career of James G. Blaine, the Maine senator and Secretary of State who ran for president in the 1880s. The spelling with the -e has been the American standard ever since.
Meaningscholars disagree
From a surname meaning "servant of Saint Bláán"; the saint's own name is usually traced to Gaelic blá, "yellow"
The surname path is clear: Mac Giolla Bhláin, "son of the servant of Bláán." What Bláán itself meant is where references part company. The most common reading takes it from Gaelic blá, "yellow," with a diminutive ending. A second tradition, repeated widely in name dictionaries, glosses it as "thin" or "slender." Both are seriously held; neither has closed the question.
How the name formed
- Bláán
- Mac Giolla Bhláin
- Blane
- Blaine
Related forms: Bláán · Blane · Blayne · Blain
Pronouncing Blaine
BLAYN
One syllable, rhyming with rain. English speakers read it correctly on sight; the only regular slip is hearing it as Blake.
Nicknames for Blaine
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
- 1990577 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #209reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- +7.5%230 in 2025, from 214
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.
Blaine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bláán in Irish / Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Blane in Scots — spelling variant
- Blayne in English — spelling variant
- Blain in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Ohio, California.
Blaines among us
people named Blaine are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 7,426 born in 2025 was named Blaine
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Blaine
- #991
- Blaine on the 2025 chart
- #666
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Blaine went to 230 boys in 2025, but Blayne is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 272, which makes it the 666th most-given boys’ name of the year — 325 places above the chart.
- Blaine230
- Blayne42
About 1 boy in 6,280 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 7,426 for Blaine itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Blaine 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 Blaine is headed
Blaine should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Blaine beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Blaine in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, four sounds, and no silent traps — most people spell it right the first time after hearing it.
- Continuously present in American birth records rather than a recent coinage, so it reads as familiar to every generation.
- Works as both a given name and a surname, which keeps it at home on a roster, a business card or a jersey.
- Common enough to be recognized, uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Blaine and Blayne both circulate, and Blaine is also near enough to Blake and Blair that some correction will be needed over a lifetime — usually one letter, quickly fixed.
- There is nothing to shorten. A one-syllable name gives a child no built-in fallback if they later want something softer or more formal, so any nickname will have to be invented rather than inherited.
- American records list Blaine for boys, though as a surname-name it occasionally goes to girls. If that matters to you, know that most people will read it as masculine on paper.
- Blaine, Minnesota and Blaine, Washington are both real places, and the surname belongs to well-known public figures. Neither association is heavy, but the name arrives already attached to a few things.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Blaine to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Blaine? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Blaine
Masculine · #991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Blaines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 26,500 people named Blaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Blaine?
- Blaine is the most-used spelling in US records — 230 of the 272 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Blayne.
- How popular is the name Blaine in 2025?
- Blaine ranks #991 among US boy names in 2025, with 230 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Blaine?
- About 1 in every 7,426 US boys born in 2025 was named Blaine — 230 in all.
- Will my child share the name Blaine with classmates?
- Blaine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Blaine
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aurelius#991 · Palmer#991 · Harold#991 · Joe#991 · Ephraim#988 · Isael#988 · Jiraiya#988 · Landry#996
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Blaine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Blaine and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle