Sigmund
Masculine · “Germanic sigu and mund”
Sigmund is one of the oldest continuously used Germanic names in Europe, a pairing of victory and protection, and for the last hundred years almost everyone who hears it thinks of one man in Vienna.
How old is the name Sigmund?
Sigmund first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Sigmund alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 700 people named Sigmund are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sigmund most popular?
Sigmund peaked in 1912, reaching #428 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 9,286 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Where it comes from
From Sigimund to Sigmund
The story of Sigmund
Germanic names were dithematic: two elements, chosen from a small family stock and recombined so that a household's names visibly belonged together without repeating. Sigmund and Siegfried share sigu, victory; in the Nibelungenlied and the Volsunga saga the two are father and son, which is exactly what the naming system predicts. The name arrived in American records with German-speaking and Ashkenazi immigrants and peaked in 1912. Two things sit on that peak and neither can be separated from the other: German immigration was near its height, and Sigmund Freud had given his only American lectures at Clark University in September 1909, which made his first name briefly a household word. What is documented is the timing; assigning the peak to one of the two causes is not.
Meaning
Germanic sigu and mund, victory and protection
From Old High German sigu, victory, and munt, hand or protection, the second element being the same word behind the legal sense of a guardian's hand. The Old Norse form is Sigmundr. The elements are shared with Siegfried, Sigrid and Sigurd, which is how Germanic naming was designed to work.
How the name formed
- Sigimund
- Sigmundr
- Sigmund
Related forms: Siegmund · Sigmund · Zygmunt · Zsigmond
Pronouncing Sigmund
SIG-muhnd
Two syllables, stress on the first. The German Siegmund has a long ee in the first syllable; the English spelling short-circuits it.
Nicknames for Sigmund
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
- 1886
- Most boys named
- 1917149 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #428reached in 1912
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%7 in 2025, from 7
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.
Sigmund in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Siegmund in German — spelling variant
- Sigmund in Norwegian — same name
- Zygmunt in Polish — same name
- Zsigmond in Hungarian — same name
Sigmunds among us
people named Sigmund are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Sigmund
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
Sigmund 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
Sigmund beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sigmund in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Sig and Ziggy are both ready-made and very different in register.
- Every element of it is documented; the meaning is not a guess.
- It is used, in local spellings, across most of northern and central Europe.
- The association with Freud is close to unavoidable in English.
- It reads as distinctly early twentieth century in America.
- Siegmund, Zygmunt and Sigmund will be confused with one another.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Sigmund 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 Sigmund? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Sigmund
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sigmunds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Sigmund are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sigmund in 2025?
- Sigmund ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sigmund?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Sigmund — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sigmund with classmates?
- Sigmund will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sigmund
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sigmund? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sigmund 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