ninan.org

Wayne

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~207,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#652 among boys
Births in 2025
422 356,422 since 1880
Typical age
66 years, median

Wayne popularity over time

Wayne rank by birth year, 1880–2025Wayne ranked #356 in 1880 and #652 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #29, in 1946.#100#1,000#652best #29 in 194618901920195019802010
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.

The high point was 1947: 10,202 births recorded as Wayne. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 57 years put Wayne in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #652, with 422 births that year. Compared with 2015, births are up 30%. Year on year the rank improved by 34.

Babies named Wayne per yearPeaks at 10,202 births in 1947.10,202 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Wayne?

About 207,300 people named Wayne are alive in the United States today. That is out of 356,422 recorded births 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 Wayne?

Median age among living Waynes: 66. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Wayne a mid-century perennial name.

Your Wayne

Ages of living people named WayneHalf of living Waynes are older than 66 and half younger.median 66020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Wayne is most common

The name is concentrated in Idaho, at 2.8× the national rate. Iowa, Utah and Wisconsin follow.

Where Wayne is used more than average5 states use the name Wayne more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: 2.8× the national rateIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 2.0× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: 2.2× the national rateIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: 2.0× the national rateOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 2.1× the national rateUTColorado: 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 Wayne is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Idaho 40 2.8×
Iowa 56 2.2×
Utah 73 2.1×
Wisconsin 90 2.0×
Ohio 202 2.0×

Wayne in England and Wales

ONS recorded 8 births named Wayne in 2025, ranking it #2,664. That is 38% 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 Wayne comes from

An occupational surname for a cartwright, Old English wægen (“wagon”).

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

Notable people named Wayne

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Wayne Rooney English footballer and manager 1985 101
Wayne Gretzky Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1961 72
Wayne Bridge English footballer 1980 50
Wayne Knight American actor 1955 49
Wayne Shorter American jazz saxophonist and composer 1933–2023 45
Wayne Hennessey Welsh association football player 1987 44
Wayne Brady American actor, comedian, and television personality 1972 39
Wayne Dyer American writer 1940–2015 36
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 286 in 1911 to 624 in 1912 — 2.2 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/wayne.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).