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Radford vs Radley

American parents have registered 1,731 Radleys since 1880, against 1,204 Radfords. Radley is still ahead, with 98 babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Radford against Radley, 1880 to 2025 0 30 60 90 120 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Radford Radley

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 120 years in which either name was published, Radford for 70 years and Radley for 50 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.

Side by side

  Radford Radley
Total US births 1,2041,731
Most in one year 26119
Babies in 2025 698
Estimated living today 5701,700
Median age today 6010
Peak year 19352024
Best rank 1,326th boys1,573rd boys
Rank in 2025 10,695th1,826th
First recorded 18851956
Girls / boys 0 / 1,204134 / 1,597

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 Radfords alive today are over 60; half the Radleys are over 10. That is 50 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: Radford and Radley.