Wave
Boy name · #3378 in 2025 · Uniqueness 47/100
Wave is currently the #3378 boy name in the United States — 35 babies received it in 2025. It has appeared in the national data since 2020. Roughly one in every 51,429 boys born in 2025 was named Wave.
The 5-year story
Wave first appears in the Social Security records in 2020, when 6 boys received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2024, with 37 babies and a rank of #3216. 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.
Babies named Wave per year, 1880–2025. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Wave against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Wave in class?
Wave scores 47 out of 100 on our uniqueness scale, which blends current rarity with five-year momentum — putting it in the "distinctive" band. That middle band is the sweet spot many parents hunt for: recognizable without being everywhere.
Where Wave is most common
State-level data for Wave is sparse in 2025 — the name's footprint is too small for most states to report (the SSA suppresses counts under 5 per state for privacy).
Names like Wave
Statistically, parents drawn to Wave tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Breece, Brave, Kove, Myaire, and Nylo.
BreeceBraveKoveMyaireNyloKaireWallenDeuce
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Wave | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 | #3314 |
| 2024 | 37 | #3216 |
| 2023 | 25 | #4220 |
| 2022 | 15 | #5874 |
| 2021 | 8 | #8825 |
| 2020 | 6 | #10605 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave a popular boy name?
Wave ranked #3378 among boys in 2025 with 35 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked outside the reported range.
When was the name Wave most popular?
Wave peaked in 2024, when 37 American boys received the name (ranked #3216 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Wave?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 51,429 newborn American boys was named Wave. It scores 47/100 on our uniqueness scale (rarity blended with momentum), which we classify as "distinctive".
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.