London
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Meaning
from the city name; meaning uncertain
The story
London is a place name built on a mystery. The city has been written about for nearly two thousand years, yet the origin of its own name remains unsettled. That uncertainty is more appealing than another tidy but invented translation: London can carry a city without pretending to explain it. As a given name, it offers atmosphere in abundance. The sound can suggest old stone and new music, ceremony and street life, a world capital that keeps changing while its name stays compact. Unlike names borrowed from a saint or ancestor, London points outward toward a map. It can mark a family connection, a journey, an imagined future, or simply affection for the sound. American use grew sharply in the early twenty-first century and is now shared by girls and boys, with girls more numerous. The better story is a city name with an unknown root and a thousand possible private meanings.
How popular is London around the world?
In the United States, 7,730 babies were named London between 2020 and 2025.
London is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales and Mexico City.
United States
1 in 2,800
In the United States, 7,730 babies were named London between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. London peaked in the 2010s. London went to 3,370 US babies in 2015 and 863 in 2025, 26% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as London in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 7,000
In Canada, 37 girls named London were born in 2024, the 794th most common name among girls that year.
In Canada, 15 boys named London were born in 2024, ranked 1,459th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 45,000
In England and Wales, 7 girls named London were born in 2025, ranked 3,333rd among girls that year.
In England and Wales, 6 boys named London were born in 2025, ranked 3,256th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of London in 2022.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
last on record 2019
London is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
New Zealand
last on record 2014
London is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet London
Most people given the name London in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like London · Names that go with London · Climbers and fallers
The London deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where London truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how London fits with your family’s names and surname.
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