Washington
Masculine · “estate of Wassa's people”
Washington is an English village in County Durham — the settlement of Wassa's people — and the family that left it for Virginia gave the name to a president, a capital and a state.
How old is the name Washington?
Washington was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Washington alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 900 people named Washington are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Washington most popular?
Washington peaked in 1884, reaching #325 nationally. See the whole 1884 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Wassa inga tun to Washington
The story of Washington
The de Wessyngton family took their name from the Durham village; a branch emigrated to Virginia in 1656. George Washington commanded the Continental Army and became the first president, and American families used his surname as a given name in very large numbers through the nineteenth century — particularly, after 1865, among freed families choosing names. It peaked around 1885.
Meaning
estate of Wassa's people
From the Old English personal name Wassa, plus -inga, 'people of', and tun, 'settlement'. Washington in Tyne and Wear preserves it, and the medieval manor house of the Washington family still stands there. The construction is a standard English place-name type.
How the name formed
- Wassa inga tun
- Wessyngton
- Washington
Related forms: Wessington · Wáshington
Pronouncing Washington
WOSH-ing-tun
Three syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Washington
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
- 192160 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #325reached in 1884
- Change vs 2021
- +33.3%8 in 2024, from 6
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.
Washington in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wessington in English — spelling variant
- Wáshington in Spanish — same name
Washingtons among us
people named Washington are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Washington sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A real English village, a real medieval manor and a documented family history stand behind it.
- It carries one of the most consequential figures in American history.
- Its nineteenth-century use records a real and significant American story.
- The presidential association is total and cannot be avoided.
- Three syllables and an unmistakable surname shape.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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Washington
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Washingtons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Washington are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Washington in 2025?
- Washington is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Washington with classmates?
- Washington will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More W names
The most-given names starting with W, all years combined.
William#9 · Walter#251 · Willie#1315 · Wayne#652 · Wesley#52 · Wyatt#38 · Warren#240 · Wallace#960
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Washington? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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