# Buddy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/buddy/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Buddie |
| US babies named this | 22,585 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 22,540 / 45 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,800, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From buddy.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 6 | 4,504 |
| 1928 | 6 | 4,254 |
| 1936 | 5 | 4,269 |
| 1938 | 7 | 3,485 |
| 1940 | 5 | 4,437 |
| 1942 | 5 | 4,703 |
| 1943 | 5 | 4,771 |
| 1980 | 6 | 9,230 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 27 | 3,806 |
| 2012 | 38 | 3,011 |
| 2013 | 23 | 4,200 |
| 2014 | 35 | 3,163 |
| 2015 | 27 | 3,896 |
| 2016 | 30 | 3,604 |
| 2017 | 28 | 3,785 |
| 2018 | 23 | 4,381 |
| 2019 | 18 | 5,190 |
| 2020 | 24 | 4,159 |
| 2021 | 35 | 3,312 |
| 2022 | 32 | 3,549 |
| 2023 | 39 | 3,125 |
| 2024 | 29 | 3,811 |
| 2025 | 23 | 4,418 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 66 | 528 |
| 2012 | 122 | 356 |
| 2013 | 114 | 356 |
| 2014 | 152 | 301 |
| 2015 | 153 | 302 |
| 2016 | 180 | 282 |
| 2017 | 169 | 294 |
| 2018 | 134 | 341 |
| 2019 | 128 | 347 |
| 2020 | 86 | 456 |
| 2021 | 107 | 401 |
| 2022 | 66 | 571 |
| 2023 | 52 | 672 |
| 2024 | 57 | 651 |
| 2025 | 28 | 1,066 |

## People named Buddy

- Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (1908–2003)
- Buddy Hield, Bahamian basketball player (born 1992)
- Buddy MacKay, American politician (1933–2024)
- Buddy Miles, American rock and funk drummer (1947–2008)
- Buddy DeFranco, American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (1923–2014)
- Buddy Van Horn, American stunt coordinator and film director (1929-2021)
- Buddy Baer, American boxer (1915–1986)
- Buddy Roemer, American politician (1943–2021)
- Buddy Adler, film producer (1909-1960)
- Buddy Jeannette, American basketball player and coach (1917–1998)
- Buddy Carter, American politician
- Buddy Greco, American singer and pianist (1926–2017)

## 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.