Bear
Boy name · #854 in 2025 · Rare
In 2025, 286 baby boys were named Bear, placing it at #854 in the official national rankings. A decade ago it stood at #1317, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 6,294 boys born in 2025 was named Bear.
Babies named Bear per year. Source: SSA.
The 50-year story
Bear first appears in the Social Security records in 1975, when 6 boys received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2022, with 332 babies and a rank of #760. Names at their peak can keep climbing — or be one trend cycle from the long slide that eventually hits most popular names. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Bear against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Bear in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Bear is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "rare". A high score means genuine rarity — your Bear will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Bear is most common
Geography matters for names, and Bear is no exception. Adjusted for how many boys are born in each state, Bear is most common in UT (0.6 per 1,000), CO (0.4 per 1,000), WA (0.4 per 1,000), MO (0.4 per 1,000), IN (0.3 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 0.2 per 1,000 boys. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Bear is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Names like Bear
Statistically, parents drawn to Bear tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Briar, Cedar, Boaz, Ivar, and Veer.
BriarCedarBoazIvarVeerUmarKaiserBeaux
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Bear | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 286 | #853 |
| 2024 | 302 | #826 |
| 2023 | 299 | #820 |
| 2022 | 332 | #760 |
| 2021 | 288 | #827 |
| 2020 | 250 | #899 |
| 2019 | 244 | #897 |
| 2018 | 207 | #998 |
| 2017 | 198 | #1020 |
| 2016 | 187 | #1055 |
| 2015 | 134 | #1317 |
| 2014 | 131 | #1329 |
| 2013 | 86 | #1709 |
| 2012 | 79 | #1849 |
| 2011 | 85 | #1730 |
| 2010 | 54 | #2354 |
| 2009 | 55 | #2348 |
| 2008 | 48 | #2583 |
| 2007 | 24 | #4127 |
| 2006 | 8 | #8732 |
| 2005 | 10 | #7096 |
| 2003 | 7 | #8643 |
| 2002 | 6 | #9392 |
| 2001 | 8 | #7536 |
| 2000 | 6 | #9112 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Bear a popular boy name?
Bear ranked #854 among boys in 2025 with 286 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #1317.
When was the name Bear most popular?
Bear peaked in 2022, when 332 American boys received the name (ranked #760 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Bear?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 6,294 newborn American boys was named Bear. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.