Baker
Baker was the 217th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,640 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,536 places. More babies were named Baker in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning baker · English, Old English
Say it BAY-ker /ˈbeɪkər/
- Rank in 2025
- #217 boys, up 307 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,640boys
- Girls and boys
- 9% girls, 91% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20251,640 babies
- Total since 1880
- 8,982babies recorded
What does the name Baker mean?
Baker is an English occupational surname for a baker, from Old English bæcere, from bacan, "to bake". Wiktionary notes it could also mean the person who ran a village's communal oven. It is one of the commonest English surnames. As a boy's first name it is a recent American transfer from the surname.
bæcere (Old English, “baker”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Baxter.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Baker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'baker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'baker', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Baker popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,656 | #217 | 125 | 1,640 |
| 2020 | #2,345 | #524 | 75 | 544 |
| 2010 | — | #2,517 | — | 49 |
| 2000 | — | #3,309 | — | 25 |
| 1990 | — | #3,992 | — | 14 |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | #4,780 | — | 5 |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | #2,595 | — | 9 |
| 1940 | — | #2,336 | — | 10 |
| 1930 | — | #3,625 | — | 6 |
| 1920 | — | #2,057 | — | 16 |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | #1,326 | — | 5 |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Baker, counting every spelling?
Baker has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #233 for boys in 2025, against #217 on the official list, because Kayson/Kaison/Kaysen and Cohen/Kohen/Kohyn and Eric/Erick/Erik move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Baker?
1,640 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Baker (0.45 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Baker born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Baker.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Baker?
About 7,800 people born in the US named Baker are alive today, with a median age of 4; half are between 2 and 7. That makes Baker a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Baker by state
How common Baker was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oklahoma (5.0×), South Dakota (5.0×), Nebraska (4.9×), Kansas (4.1×), North Dakota (3.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Baker: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Baker, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Baker · Sibling names for Baker
Questions about the name Baker
What does Baker mean?
Baker means “baker” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Baker?
Baker was the 217th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,640 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,536 places. More babies were named Baker in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Baker a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 9% girls, 91% boys given the name Baker in the US.
Where is Baker most popular?
In 2021–2025, Baker was most common in Oklahoma (2.87 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and Nebraska.