Oak
Masculine · “oak tree”
Oak is given to both — 647 boys and 27 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Oak is the tree Zeus, Thor and the druids all attached themselves to — and the Old English ac has not changed its meaning in a thousand years.
How old is the name Oak?
Oak first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Oak is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Oak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Oak most popular?
Oak peaked in 2023, reaching #2129 nationally. Today it ranks #2332, 203 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ac to Oak
The story of Oak
The oak was sacred to Zeus at Dodona, to Thor in Germanic Europe and to the druids, who are said by Pliny to have taken their name from a word for it; oaks are struck by lightning more than other trees, which may be why. Oak entered American given-name use recently and is in current use.
Meaning
oak tree
From the Old English ac, 'oak', cognate with the German Eiche and the Old Norse eik. The word is ordinary and unchanged in sense. It appears in hundreds of English place names — Acton, Oakley, Sevenoaks. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- ac
- oak
- Oak
Related forms: Eiche · Eik
Pronouncing Oak
OHK
One syllable. It is a homophone of the ordinary English noun.
Nicknames for Oak
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
- 1920
- Most boys named
- 202368 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2129reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- +3.5%59 in 2025, from 57
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.
Oak in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Eiche in German — related form
- Eik in Old Norse — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Tennessee, Florida.
Oaks among us
people named Oak are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 28,950 born in 2025 was named Oak
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 Kali test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Oak's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kali climbed just as high around 1974, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kali's path sketches the road Oak is walking now.
Oak 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 Oak is headed
Oak looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Oak beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Oak in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That oaks are struck by lightning more than other trees may explain their sacredness — a first-rate fact.
- The meaning is concrete and needs no explanation anywhere.
- One syllable, solid, and never mispronounced.
- It is an ordinary English noun and reads as one.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- It is very new as a given name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Oak to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Oak
Masculine · #2332 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Oaks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Oak are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Oak in 2025?
- Oak ranks #2332 among US boy names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Oak?
- About 1 in every 28,950 US boys born in 2025 was named Oak — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Oak with classmates?
- Oak will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Oak
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Harlen#2332 · Skye#2332 · Keyon#2332 · Rishaan#2332 · Kobi#2332 · Layth#2332 · Merlin#2332 · Saad#2332
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Oak? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Oak 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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