Ransom
Masculine · “redemption”
Ransom is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 4,859 boys against 10 girls since 1880.
Ransom is a payment for release, and the Latin behind it is redemption — redemptio, the same word that gives redeem, which came into English twice by different roads.
How old is the name Ransom?
Ransom was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ransom alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 3,200 people named Ransom are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ransom most popular?
Ransom peaked in 1882, reaching #453 nationally. Today it ranks #1688, 1,235 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From redemptionem to Ransom
The story of Ransom
Ransom was an English surname, either occupational or from the medieval given name Rand. As an American given name it appears in nineteenth-century records and returned in the 2010s among the word- and surname-names. Its theological sense — Christ's death as a ransom — gives it a second life in Christian naming.
Meaning
redemption, payment for release
From the Old French rançon and the Latin redemptionem, 'a buying back' — the same word that entered English separately as 'redemption' through scholarly Latin. The doubling is a common pattern: one form through Norman French, one through the schools. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- redemptionem
- rançon
- ransom
- Ransom
Related forms: Rançon · Ransome · Redemption
Pronouncing Ransom
RAN-sum
Two syllables, stress on the first. It is a homophone of the ordinary English noun.
Nicknames for Ransom
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2022111 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #453reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −12.6%97 in 2025, from 111
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.
Ransom in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rançon in French — related form
- Ransome in English — spelling variant
- Redemption in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Tennessee.
Ransoms among us
people named Ransom are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,609 born in 2025 was named Ransom
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
Ransom 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 Ransom is headed
Ransom 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.
Ransom beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ransom in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The double arrival of one Latin word as ransom and redemption is a genuinely good piece of history.
- The theological sense gives it real depth in Christian naming.
- Two firm syllables that carry well against any surname.
- It is an ordinary English noun with a kidnapping association.
- Ransome with an e is an established surname spelling.
- It is rare enough to be asked about constantly.
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What they receive
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Ransom
Masculine · #1688 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ransoms are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,200 people named Ransom are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ransom in 2025?
- Ransom ranks #1688 among US boy names in 2025, with 97 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ransom?
- About 1 in every 17,609 US boys born in 2025 was named Ransom — 97 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ransom with classmates?
- Ransom will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ransom
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alister#1688 · Yaman#1688 · Caelum#1688 · Darrell#1688 · Viggo#1688 · Raylen#1688 · Meyer#1688 · Naim#1688
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ransom? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ransom and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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