Humanverse

Nam vs Namor

American parents have registered 1,404 Nams since 1880, against 24 Namors. Nam is still ahead, with 8 babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Nam against Namor, 1880 to 2025 0 15 30 45 60 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Nam Namor

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 51 years in which either name was published, Nam for 50 years and Namor for 1 year. The lead changed hands 2 times.

Side by side

  Nam Namor
Total US births 1,40424
Most in one year 5814
Babies in 2025 85
Estimated living today 1,40020
Median age today 312
Peak year 19842023
Best rank 1,198th boys6,220th boys
Rank in 2025 8,910th12,008th
First recorded 19752023
Girls / boys 0 / 1,4040 / 24

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 Nams alive today are over 31; half the Namors are over 2. That is 29 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: Nam and Namor.