# Boston (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/boston/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɔstən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Bosox |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 11,944 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 10,901 / 1,043 (9% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 190, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

The US city is named after the English town (from which several prominent colonists had come), which itself is sometimes said to be named as a contraction of Botolph's town or Botolph's stone (the name Botolph itself coming from Old English Botwulf, from boda + wulf). However, this is uncertain.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 33 | 4,373 |
| 2012 | 50 | 3,275 |
| 2013 | 48 | 3,324 |
| 2014 | 65 | 2,690 |
| 2015 | 39 | 3,856 |
| 2016 | 50 | 3,242 |
| 2017 | 41 | 3,707 |
| 2018 | 41 | 3,687 |
| 2019 | 53 | 3,049 |
| 2020 | 42 | 3,555 |
| 2021 | 52 | 3,120 |
| 2022 | 43 | 3,609 |
| 2023 | 41 | 3,716 |
| 2024 | 44 | 3,523 |
| 2025 | 54 | 3,037 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 456 | 557 |
| 2012 | 487 | 536 |
| 2013 | 465 | 566 |
| 2014 | 497 | 555 |
| 2015 | 451 | 605 |
| 2016 | 416 | 638 |
| 2017 | 389 | 659 |
| 2018 | 407 | 640 |
| 2019 | 451 | 607 |
| 2020 | 463 | 594 |
| 2021 | 464 | 601 |
| 2022 | 454 | 616 |
| 2023 | 433 | 636 |
| 2024 | 451 | 627 |
| 2025 | 451 | 620 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 2,892 |
| 2012 | 7 | 2,721 |
| 2013 | 4 | 3,822 |
| 2014 | 11 | 1,935 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,150 |
| 2016 | 9 | 2,335 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2,172 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1,610 |
| 2019 | 12 | 1,869 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,334 |
| 2021 | 17 | 1,448 |
| 2022 | 11 | 2,018 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2,443 |
| 2025 | 6 | 3,256 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: بُوسْطُن
- Armenian: Բոստոն
- Bulgarian: Бо́стън
- Chinese: 波士頓 /波士顿
- Danish: Boston
- Esperanto: Bostono
- Finnish: Boston
- French: Boston
- Georgian: ბოსტონი
- German: Boston
- Greek: Βοστώνη, Βοστόνη
- Hebrew: בוסטון
- Hindi: बोस्टन
- Irish: Bostún
- Italian: Boston
- Japanese: ボストン
- Korean: 보스턴
- Latin: Bostonia, Bostonium
- Latvian: Bostona
- Lithuanian: Bostonas

## People named Boston

- Boston Custer, Brother of George Armstrong Custer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.