Humanverse

Rece vs Reco

American parents have registered 1,202 Recos since 1880, against 527 Reces. But in 2025 it was Rece that was commoner, 9 babies to 5.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

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

Rece Reco

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 68 years in which either name was published, Reco for 42 years and Rece for 26 years. The lead changed hands 5 times.

Side by side

  Rece Reco
Total US births 5271,202
Most in one year 5166
Babies in 2025 95
Estimated living today 5201,100
Median age today 2042
Peak year 20021976
Best rank 2,092nd boys1,019th boys
Rank in 2025 8,243rd12,008th
First recorded 19951956
Girls / boys 5 / 5220 / 1,202

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 Recos alive today are over 42; half the Reces are over 20. That is 22 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: Rece and Reco.