Methodology & Data Sources

Popularity records, name etymologies, and biographical information answer different questions and use different sources. This page explains the coverage of the site’s imported data and how to interpret missing records.

Published May 5, 2026 · Revised October 27, 2026.

National popularity: a selected import

The source is the US Social Security Administration baby-name files, based on Social Security card applications. The site currently holds 65,411 name/sex/year records over 146 observed years, 1880–2025. These records are an imported selection, not the complete official national download or a census of all births.

Historical coverage is narrower, including top-100 selection before 2000. Annual refreshes also filter by catalog spelling and a maximum source rank. The annual importer computes rank before applying its catalog filter. Stored rank is not a new ranking among the displayed names. The row totals below count spelling-and-sex records, so a spelling on both sex lists contributes two records.

A missing row does not establish zero use

These cases must be distinguished:

• Not covered by this site: a spelling, sex, year, or rank may have been excluded by the import.
• Outside a displayed ranking: a name missing from a top-100 or top-1,000 list can still have a published count elsewhere in the official data.
• Not disclosed in a complete checked source file: SSA’s public files apply privacy limits to low counts. This conclusion requires checking the appropriate complete official file, not only this site’s subset.

For an unmatched local record, the display is “Not covered in this import.” It is not converted to zero, fewer than five, a first-ever use, or an infinite growth rate. A sum over imported years is labeled as a sum of available records, not a lifetime national total. Percentage changes require observed counts at both endpoints and a positive baseline.

Exact spellings and recorded sex are separate series. Names such as Sara and Sarah are not combined. The SSA sex field is not a measure of gender identity. Missing years can affect trend interpretation, and early official records also have their own limitations: SSA background and qualifications.

State data and geographic comparisons

State and national imports have different coverage. A state/national ratio must use the same spelling, sex, year, and compatible records. If a state count exceeds its corresponding national count, the result is withheld for investigation; privacy suppression is not an explanation for a state total exceeding a comparable national total.

A state’s share of one name’s national count is not that name’s share of all births in the state. An average ordinal rank is not a per-capita rate. Pages must identify the denominator and use only the years actually represented.

Name meanings and origins

The catalog contains 19,862 records. SSA provides usage counts, not meanings, pronunciation, or etymology. Those fields require separate name dictionaries or relevant linguistic references. An etymology source is linked beside the explanation when supplied. A general methodology link does not substantiate an individual translation.

Recorded origin versus collection membership

A linguistic root, a spelling adapted in another language, and present-day cultural use can differ. A collection may describe usage or association; it should not silently replace the individual etymology. Names with several histories need a qualified explanation. An attractive association is not automatically a literal meaning.

Biographies, guides, and reports

The database contains 2,999 biographical records and 798 active guides. A name match connects a biography to a catalog entry; it does not verify every claim in the biography. Historical and biographical claims need their own references.

The site uses database-generated tables and AI-assisted drafting. Authorship labels or a blanket claim of fact-checking cannot establish accuracy. Individual sources, defined calculations, and corrections provide the evidence a reader can inspect. The corrected reports identify their selection and the conclusions it can support.

National annual name totals do not link children to families and do not identify parents’ ethnicity, religion, or motives. Two names being popular in the same year does not establish sibling or twin pairing. A naming increase after a cultural event does not by itself establish that the event caused it.

Corrections and citation

The October 27, 2026 correction revises the distinction between local coverage and privacy suppression, removes unsupported family-pair and national-origin-share conclusions, and corrects identified name records. Material report corrections are described on the affected pages. This does not imply that every legacy etymology or biography has been individually verified.

When citing a report, include its URL, the observation year or range, and the stated selection. Credit SSA for its underlying data and 9BabyNames for the particular selection or presentation. Do not omit a subset limitation when quoting a result.

Report an error with the page URL and a supporting reference to [email protected].