Major
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Meaning
military rank title, "greater"
The story
Major is Latin for greater worn as a rank and the rank worn as a name, and its record holds two distinct lives. The first was quietly real: about 380 to 1,440 a decade from the 1890s through the 1950s, an old Southern-flavored dignity, then the fade. The second is the title register's doing: about 870 in the 2000s, then 7,700 in the 2010s, nearly nine times over in one step, as King, Royal, Reign, Saint and their court took the certificate by storm, all storied here. This decade holds 3,900 so far, and the record is nearly absolute: about 21,300 boys to 80 girls. The rank sits mid-ladder in the army and at the very top of the nursery, a promotion the certificate grants on day one; the record shows a century of families saluting.
How popular is Major around the world?
In the United States, 3,877 babies were named Major between 2020 and 2025.
Major is on the official records of the United States, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,600
In the United States, 3,877 babies were named Major between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Major peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Major has stayed between 450 and 7,653 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Spain
1 in 1.1M
In Spain, 40 residents are named Major, ranked 17,495th among men, with a mean age of 46.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 36 people in Brazil were named Major, ranked 83,466th, with a median age of 42.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
England and Wales
last on record 2024
Major is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
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
South Australia
last on record 2012
Major is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, 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 Major
Most people given the name Major 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
The Major deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Major 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 Major fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Major fit YOUR family?
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