Heath
Heath was the 932nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 253 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 181st with 1,249 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 98 places. More babies were named Heath in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning heath, open land · Old English, English
Say it HEETH /hiθ/
- Rank in 2025
- #932 boys, up 60 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 253boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19741,249 babies
- Total since 1880
- 29,704babies recorded
What does the name Heath mean?
Heath is an English surname for someone who lived on a heath, open land covered with shrubs, from Old English hǣþ. Wikipedia links its rise as an American first name to Heath Barkley, a character in the TV western The Big Valley (from 1965); the actor Heath Ledger later made it familiar again. It was most popular in the US in the 1970s.
hǣþ (Old English, “heath, open scrubland”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Heathcliff, Heather.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Heath', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Heath (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Heath popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 181 since 1969.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #932 | 253 |
| 2020 | #992 | 215 |
| 2010 | #761 | 295 |
| 2000 | #854 | 187 |
| 1990 | #461 | 457 |
| 1980 | #247 | 906 |
| 1970 | #278 | 756 |
| 1960 | #2,598 | 11 |
| 1950 | #3,905 | 5 |
| 1940 | #2,986 | 7 |
| 1930 | #3,140 | 8 |
| 1920 | #1,844 | 19 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Heath, counting every spelling?
Heath has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #894 for boys in 2025, against #932 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Heath?
253 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Heath (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Heath 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 33 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Heath.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Heath?
About 27,300 people born in the US named Heath are alive today, with a median age of 44; half are between 28 and 51. That makes Heath mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Heath by state
How common Heath was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (3.5×), Pennsylvania (2.1×), Tennessee (1.8×), Washington (1.6×). In 21 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Heath: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Heath, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Heath
What does Heath mean?
Heath means “heath, open land” (Old English, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Heath?
Heath was the 932nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 253 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 181st with 1,249 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 98 places. More babies were named Heath in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Heath a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Heath in the US.
Where is Heath most popular?
In 2021–2025, Heath was most common in Utah (0.51 per 1,000 boys), followed by Pennsylvania and Arkansas.