Maverick
Feminine · “an unbranded calf”
Maverick is given to boys far more often — 70,604 boys against 771 girls since 1880. See Maverick as a boy name
Maverick is a name that started as a surname, became a word, and came back as a name. The word exists because a Texas rancher declined to brand his cattle, and everybody else's unbranded calves ended up being called after him.
How old is the name Maverick?
Maverick first appears in US birth records in 2006 — 19 years ago. The typical Maverick is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Maverick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maverick most popular?
Maverick peaked in 2021, reaching #1980 nationally. Today it ranks #2822, 842 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Maverick to Maverick
The story of Maverick
The word entered American English in the eighteen-sixties out of Texas cattle country, in the literal sense first — an unbranded animal belonged to whoever caught it, so a maverick was a legal category before it was a compliment. The figurative sense followed within a generation and has been the main one ever since. Its return as a given name is recent, mostly American, and mostly for sons; its use for daughters is newer still and belongs to the wider movement of surname-and-word names crossing over.
Meaning
an unbranded calf; an independent person
Samuel Maverick was a nineteenth-century Texas landowner who did not brand his cattle, and neighbors began calling any unbranded animal a maverick. The word then widened to mean someone who does not run with the herd. The surname itself is English, from a Middle English word for a strong-willed person. The reading is documented and the path from man to word is unusually well recorded.
How the name formed
- Maverick
- maverick
Pronouncing Maverick
MAV-uh-rik
Three syllables, stress on the first. Every English speaker says it correctly, because the word is entirely ordinary.
Nicknames for Maverick
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
- 2006
- Most girls named
- 202198 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1980reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −29.4%60 in 2025, from 85
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.
Maverick in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Mavericks among us
people named Maverick are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 26,788 born in 2025 was named Maverick
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 Linnette test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maverick's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Linnette climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Linnette's path sketches the road Maverick is walking now.
Maverick 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 Maverick is headed
Maverick 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.
Maverick beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maverick in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Said and spelled correctly by every English speaker without being told.
- Mav and Rick are both ready short forms and Rick is a complete name of its own.
- A documented and genuinely well-recorded origin, which most word-names cannot claim.
- The word describes a temperament, which is a claim made on the child's behalf rather than about them.
- It is given far more often to boys, so a daughter will be read as a son on paper.
- It carries a strong cinematic association that arrives before the child does.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Maverick 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 Maverick? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Maverick
Feminine · #2822 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mavericks 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 Maverick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maverick in 2025?
- Maverick ranks #2822 among US girl names in 2025, with 60 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maverick?
- About 1 in every 26,788 US girls born in 2025 was named Maverick — 60 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maverick with classmates?
- Maverick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maverick
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lya#2822 · Roxanna#2822 · Kensington#2822 · Maybelle#2822 · Hayat#2822 · Seven#2822 · Livie#2822 · Haniya#2822
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maverick? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maverick 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