Banks
Banks was the 310th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,099 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,229 places. More babies were named Banks in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning at the bank (slope) · English, Old Norse
Say it BANGKS /bæŋks/
- Rank in 2025
- #310 boys, up 443 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,099boys
- Girls and boys
- 9% girls, 91% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20251,099 babies
- Total since 1880
- 6,970babies recorded
What does the name Banks mean?
Banks is an English surname for someone who lived on or by a bank, a slope or raised ground, from Middle English banke, a word of Scandinavian origin. Bardsley explains it as "at the bank", the slope in the land, and notes that short place-based surnames commonly add an -s. As a boy's first name it is a recent American use.
banke (Middle English, “bank, slope”)*banki (Old Norse, “bank, ridge”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Bank.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley.
Sources for this meaning
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Banks', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- Wiktionary, entry 'bank', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Banks popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,105 | #310 | 89 | 1,099 |
| 2020 | #3,149 | #753 | 50 | 322 |
| 2010 | — | #2,518 | — | 49 |
| 2000 | — | #4,601 | — | 16 |
| 1990 | — | #5,414 | — | 9 |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | #4,783 | — | 5 |
| 1960 | — | #4,073 | — | 5 |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | #2,678 | — | 8 |
| 1930 | — | #2,622 | — | 10 |
| 1920 | — | #1,646 | — | 22 |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Banks, counting every spelling?
Banks is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #304 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #310 for Banks on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,154 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | 1,099 | #310 | 4,311 |
| Banx | 55 | #2,455 | 275 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Banks?
1,099 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Banks (0.30 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Banks 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 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Banks.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Banks?
About 6,000 people born in the US named Banks are alive today, with a median age of 4; half are between 2 and 6. That makes Banks 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.
Banks by state
How common Banks was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (4.0×), North Dakota (3.3×), Nebraska (3.3×), Iowa (3.2×), Montana (3.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Banks: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Banks, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Banks · Sibling names for Banks
Questions about the name Banks
What does Banks mean?
Banks means “at the bank (slope)” (English, Old Norse origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Banks?
Banks was the 310th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,099 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,229 places. More babies were named Banks in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Banks a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 9% girls, 91% boys given the name Banks in the US.
Where is Banks most popular?
In 2021–2025, Banks was most common in Utah (2.00 per 1,000 boys), followed by North Dakota and Nebraska.