Woodie vs Woodson
American parents have registered 2,262 Woodies since 1880, against 1,359 Woodsons. But in 2025 it was Woodson that was commoner, 56 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Woodie Woodson
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 131 years in which either name was published, Woodie for 94 years and Woodson for 37 years. The lead changed hands 22 times.
- 1883–1978 Woodie ahead, apart from 5 short spells
- 1980–2025 Woodson ahead, apart from one short spell
15 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Woodie | Woodson | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,262 | 1,359 |
| Most in one year | 59 | 56 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 56 |
| Estimated living today | 710 | 700 |
| Median age today | 71 | 11 |
| Peak year | 1946 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 967th boys | 2,421st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 2,421st |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 338 / 1,924 | 0 / 1,359 |
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 Woodies alive today are over 71; half the Woodsons are over 11. That is 60 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Woodie and Woodson.