Jaeger
Masculine · “hunter”
Jäger is the German word for a hunter, and it names a specific military tradition — light infantry recruited from foresters and gamekeepers.
How old is the name Jaeger?
Jaeger first appears in US birth records in 1993 — 32 years ago. The typical Jaeger alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 800 people named Jaeger are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jaeger most popular?
Jaeger peaked in 2002, reaching #2224 nationally. Today it ranks #4396, 2,172 places below that high. See the whole 2002 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From jagen to Jaeger
The story of Jaeger
Eighteenth-century armies wanted skirmishers who could shoot accurately and use ground, so they recruited from foresters and gamekeepers and called the units Jäger — hunters. The idea spread to the British rifles, the French chasseurs and the Italian bersaglieri. The German surname is common and its use as an American given name is recent, appearing from the 1990s.
Meaning
hunter
From German jagen, to hunt; Jäger is the agent noun. The word also names light infantry units across several European armies, recruited originally from men who could already shoot and move in cover.
How the name formed
- jagen
- Jäger
Related forms: Jäger · Jager · Hunter
Pronouncing Jaeger
YAY-ger
Two syllables, first stressed; the German j is a y. Americans say JAY-ger.
Nicknames for Jaeger
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
- 1993
- Most boys named
- 200247 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2224reached in 2002
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%23 in 2025, from 23
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.
Jaeger in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jäger in German — same name
- Jager in Dutch — same name
- Hunter in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Jaegers among us
people named Jaeger are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 74,264 born in 2025 was named Jaeger
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 Greer test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jaeger's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Greer climbed just as high around 1923, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Greer's path sketches the road Jaeger is walking now.
Jaeger 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
Jaeger beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jaeger in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a genuinely interesting military history behind it.
- Read correctly by English speakers once they have been told once.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- The German j is a y sound and Americans will not use it.
- A German liqueur carries the word prominently, which is a strong association.
- Jaeger, Jager and Yeager are all in use and mark different traditions.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Jaeger 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 Jaeger? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Jaeger
Masculine · #4396 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jaegers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Jaeger are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jaeger in 2025?
- Jaeger ranks #4396 among US boy names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jaeger?
- About 1 in every 74,264 US boys born in 2025 was named Jaeger — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jaeger with classmates?
- Jaeger will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jaeger
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Odell#4396 · Corwin#4396 · Tennyson#4396 · Marques#4396 · Manu#4396 · Omid#4396 · Zackariah#4396 · Burton#4396
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jaeger? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jaeger 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