Sanford vs Santo
American parents have registered 15,044 Sanfords since 1880, against 4,876 Santos. But in 2025 it was Santo that was commoner, 31 babies to 12.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Sanford Santo
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 146 years in which either name was published, Sanford for 111 years and Santo for 35 years. The lead changed hands 13 times.
- 1880–1991 Sanford ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1992–2025 Santo ahead, apart from 3 short spells
8 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Sanford | Santo | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 15,044 | 4,876 |
| Most in one year | 315 | 116 |
| Babies in 2025 | 12 | 31 |
| Estimated living today | 5,500 | 2,200 |
| Median age today | 67 | 49 |
| Peak year | 1929 | 1925 |
| Best rank | 311th boys | 577th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 6,803rd | 3,583rd |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1907 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 15,044 | 0 / 4,876 |
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 Sanfords alive today are over 67; half the Santos are over 49. That is 18 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Sanford New York (3.0×), Hawaii (2.5×), Alabama (2.2×)
- Santo New York (8.2×), New Jersey (3.1×), Connecticut (3.0×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Sanford and Santo.