ninan.org

Eugene

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~139,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#943 among boys
Births in 2025
249 383,340 since 1880
Typical age
67 years, median

Eugene popularity over time

Eugene rank by birth year, 1880–2025Eugene ranked #53 in 1880 and #943 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #20, in 1927.#100#1,000#943best #20 in 192718901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1927 is the peak year for Eugene, with 9,827 births. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Eugene has spent 78 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #943, on 249 births. It slipped 70 places against the previous year.

Babies named Eugene per yearPeaks at 9,827 births in 1927.9,827 in 1927018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Eugene?

About 139,700 people named Eugene are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 383,340 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Eugene?

Half of living Eugenes are older than 67, half younger. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Eugene a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Eugene

Ages of living people named EugeneHalf of living Eugenes are older than 67 and half younger.median 67020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Eugene is most common

Minnesota uses the name 2.4× as often as the country as a whole. Washington, Oregon and Michigan follow.

Where Eugene is used more than average5 states use the name Eugene more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.8× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 2.4× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: 1.6× the national rateMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: 1.7× the national rateORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.5× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Eugene is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Minnesota 90 2.4×
Washington 88 1.8×
Oregon 39 1.7×
Michigan 101 1.6×
Pennsylvania 123 1.5×

Eugene in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Eugene ranked #2,952 in 2025 on 7 births. That is 53% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Eugene comes from

Borrowed from French Eugène, from Latin Eugenius, from Ancient Greek Εὐγένιος (“well born”). Parallel to eugenics. Doublet of Yevgeny, Eugenius, Owen.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Eugene

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Eugene O'Neill American playwright 1888–1953 107
Eugene Merle Shoemaker American geologist and astronomer 1928–1997 50
Eugene V. Debs American labor and political leader 1855–1926 49
Eugene Levy Canadian actor and comedian 1946 38
Eugene McCarthy American politician 1916–2005 38
Eugene Ormandy Hungarian-American conductor and violinist 1899–1985 30
Eugene Parker American astronomer 1927–2022 28
Eugene Galekovic Australian association football player 1981 27
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,073 in 1911 to 2,125 in 1912 — 2.0 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/eugene.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).