Humanverse

Newman vs Newt

American parents have registered 1,896 Newmans since 1880, against 852 Newts. But in 2025 it was Newt that was commoner, 12 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Newman against Newt, 1880 to 2025 0 20 40 60 80 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Newman Newt

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 134 years in which either name was published, Newman for 99 years and Newt for 35 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.

8 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

  Newman Newt
Total US births 1,896852
Most in one year 6720
Babies in 2025 under 512
Estimated living today 550300
Median age today 6110
Peak year 19211914
Best rank 843rd boys1,342nd boys
Rank in 2025 unranked6,803rd
First recorded 18821880
Girls / boys 0 / 1,8960 / 852

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 Newmans alive today are over 61; half the Newts are over 10. 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: Newman and Newt.