Houston vs James
How Houston and James compare across 146 years of US Social Security Administration baby-name records — popularity history, peak years, current rank, and which name overtook which.
Houston
Male · Scottish
Meaning: From Hugh's Town. Place-Name And Surname. American West Texan General Sam Houston. A City In Texas USA.
US Popularity History — Side-by-Side
Annual US births named Houston (boys) vs James (boys), from US Social Security Administration national records.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Names appearing fewer than 5 times per year are suppressed by SSA.
Quick Stats
| Metric | Houston | James |
|---|---|---|
| Peak year (most US births) | 2021 — 439 boys | 1947 — 94,763 boys |
| Peak rank | #627 | #1 |
| Most recent rank (2025) | #675 (402 births) | #6 (11,945 births) |
| Total US births since 1880 | 7,142 | 5,250,515 |
| Last 10 years (2016–2025) | 3,582 | 128,527 |
Peak comparison takeaway
At its all-time peak, James reached 94,763 US births in 1947 — 94,324 more than Houston's peak count.
Strongest States — Last 10 Years
States where each name ranked highest, from SSA's state-level dataset. Lower average rank = name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name list.
Houston — top 5 states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | #249 | 204 |
| 2 | Tennessee | #282 | 277 |
| 3 | West Virginia | #295 | 26 |
| 4 | Mississippi | #315 | 93 |
| 5 | Kentucky | #332 | 143 |
James — top 5 states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | #2 | 1,549 |
| 2 | Alabama | #2 | 2,711 |
| 3 | South Carolina | #3 | 2,285 |
| 4 | Tennessee | #4 | 3,524 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | #4 | 564 |
Want a different comparison?
Data & methodology
Source: US Social Security Administration national baby names dataset 1880–2025 (CC0 public domain). Names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a given year are suppressed by SSA. State-level coverage runs 1910–2025. Crossover detection compares annual birth counts (not ranks) for each year both names appear. Methodology: see full notes. More comparisons →