Adolph vs Adonijah
American parents have registered 18,765 Adolphs since 1880, against 509 Adonijahs. But in 2025 it was Adonijah that was commoner, 13 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Adolph Adonijah
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Adolph for 122 years and Adonijah for 24 years. The lead changed hands once.
Side by side
| Adolph | Adonijah | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 18,765 | 509 |
| Most in one year | 681 | 33 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 13 |
| Estimated living today | 3,600 | 500 |
| Median age today | 65 | 14 |
| Peak year | 1917 | 2014 |
| Best rank | 180th boys | 3,297th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 6,446th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1982 |
| Girls / boys | 20 / 18,745 | 26 / 483 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Adolphs alive today are over 65; half the Adonijahs are over 14. That is 51 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Adolph and Adonijah.