Favor
Feminine · “goodwill”
Favor is given to both — 517 girls and 139 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Favor is an English word used as a name, and the Latin behind it is about a crowd shouting approval at the games.
How old is the name Favor?
Favor first appears in US birth records in 2002 — 23 years ago. The typical Favor is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Favor are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Favor most popular?
Favor peaked in 2021, reaching #4413 nationally. Today it ranks #4546, 133 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Favor
Ours, offered as ours. Latin favere is the word for a crowd being on someone's side — the shouting, the applause, the momentum of public support at a race or a trial. It also produced the odd idiom favete linguis, favor with your tongues, which means be silent: the same goodwill, expressed by shutting up. English kept the approval and dropped the crowd. The name is well used in Nigerian and African American families.
Meaning
goodwill, approval
From Latin favere, to show goodwill or to support; the verb was used of spectators backing a competitor. The related favere linguis, meaning to keep respectful silence, shows the word covered both noise and its absence.
Pronouncing Favor
FAY-ver
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Favor
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
- 2002
- Most girls named
- 202131 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4413reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −3.2%30 in 2025, from 31
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.
Favor in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Favor in Spanish — related form
- Favour in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, North Carolina, Maryland.
Favors among us
people named Favor are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 53,576 born in 2025 was named Favor
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Anni test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Favor's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Anni climbed just as high around 1932, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Anni's path sketches the road Favor is walking now.
Favor 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 Favor is headed
Favor should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Favor beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Favor in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with an unusually vivid Latin picture behind it.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Favour is the British spelling and both will be written for her.
- It is an ordinary English noun and will be read as a statement about her.
- A word name of this kind invites comment throughout life.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Favor 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 Favor? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Favor
Feminine · #4546 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Favors are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Favor are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Favor in 2025?
- Favor ranks #4546 among US girl names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Favor?
- About 1 in every 53,576 US girls born in 2025 was named Favor — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Favor with classmates?
- Favor will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Favor
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amie#4546 · Rashell#4546 · Renatta#4546 · Raisa#4546 · Amena#4546 · Aryn#4546 · Nadiya#4546 · Jeanne#4546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Favor? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Favor 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
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