Woodson vs Woody
American parents have registered 4,246 Woodys since 1880, against 1,359 Woodsons. But in 2025 it was Woodson that was commoner, 56 babies to 10.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Woodson Woody
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 129 years in which either name was published, Woody for 89 years and Woodson for 40 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.
- 1886–1925 Woodson ahead, apart from 3 short spells
- 1926–2006 Woody ahead
- 2007–2025 Woodson ahead, apart from one short spell
8 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Woodson | Woody | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,359 | 4,246 |
| Most in one year | 56 | 116 |
| Babies in 2025 | 56 | 10 |
| Estimated living today | 700 | 2,600 |
| Median age today | 11 | 60 |
| Peak year | 2025 | 1946 |
| Best rank | 2,421st boys | 599th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 2,421st | 7,679th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1882 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,359 | 10 / 4,236 |
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 Woodys alive today are over 60; half the Woodsons are over 11. That is 49 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: Woodson and Woody.