Major
Masculine · Latin roots · “greater”
Major is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 21,673 boys against 76 girls since 1880.
Major comes from the Latin *maior*, "greater" — the comparative of *magnus*, "great." It belongs to a small American family of rank-and-title names, the same shelf as Duke, Earl and King, and it has appeared in US records across two separate waves of fashion: once in the Victorian era, and again in recent years.
How old is the name Major?
Major was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Major is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 16,000 people named Major are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Major most popular?
Major peaked in 1881, reaching #244 nationally. Today it ranks #669, 425 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Major appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From maior (Latin) to Major
The story of Major
*Maior*, the Latin comparative of *magnus*, gave English both *mayor* and *major*, and the army rank arrived from French in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As a surname, Major has two threads: the Latin status word, and the Norman given name Mauger, carried into England after 1066. Its life as an American first name is a different story again — it grew out of the nineteenth-century habit of naming sons after ranks and titles, the same impulse behind Duke, Earl, Prince and General. That older wave faded, and the name has come back in a fresh one.
Meaning
greater, larger (Latin)
The root is Latin *maior*. Two routes carry it into English: the military rank, borrowed through French, and the surname Major — which in some families comes from that Latin status word and in others from the Norman personal name Mauger.
How the name formed
- maiorLatin
- majour / majorOld French, Middle English
- Major
Pronouncing Major
MAY-jer
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the English word. No regional variation to speak of in the US.
Nicknames for Major
Limited
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
- 2016990 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #244reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −42.3%407 in 2025, from 705
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.
Major in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, Georgia.
Majors among us
people named Major are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 4,197 born in 2025 was named Major
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
Major 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 Major is headed
Major is easing off slowly — about 23% 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.
Major beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Major in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds and already familiar as an English word — almost no one will ask how to write it or say it.
- Two clean syllables with a strong first beat, which sits easily against most one-syllable surnames.
- Part of a recognizable American naming tradition alongside Duke, Earl and King, so it has precedent rather than novelty behind it.
- Documented in US records across two distinct eras, not just the current one.
- People hear the military rank first, and will keep hearing it. Expect a lifetime of small jokes about promotions, and a particular tangle if he ever joins the service and is addressed by an actual rank.
- It is also an ordinary English word — a college major, major and minor, the major issue — so the name turns up in sentences that have nothing to do with him.
- Its use is noticeably concentrated in the South and Texas; elsewhere it will read as more unusual, and he is likely to be the only one in his class either way.
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Major
Masculine · Latin roots · #669 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Majors are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 16,000 people named Major are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Major in 2025?
- Major ranks #669 among US boy names in 2025, with 407 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Major?
- About 1 in every 4,197 US boys born in 2025 was named Major — 407 in all.
- Will my child share the name Major with classmates?
- Major will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Major
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ahmad#669 · Wylder#669 · Davis#668 · Jaxton#667 · Wilson#672 · Benicio#672 · Chaim#666 · Vincenzo#674
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Major? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Major and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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