Humanverse

Hamish vs Hamp

American parents have registered 1,076 Hamps since 1880, against 364 Hamishes. But in 2025 it was Hamish that was commoner, 14 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Hamish against Hamp, 1880 to 2025 0 8 16 24 32 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Hamish Hamp

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 120 years in which either name was published, Hamp for 90 years and Hamish for 30 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.

Side by side

  Hamish Hamp
Total US births 3641,076
Most in one year 2527
Babies in 2025 14under 5
Estimated living today 360220
Median age today 1072
Peak year 20171920
Best rank 4,105th boys1,416th boys
Rank in 2025 6,143rdunranked
First recorded 19811880
Girls / boys 0 / 3640 / 1,076

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Hamps alive today are over 72; half the Hamishes are over 10. That is 62 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Hamish and Hamp.