# Butler (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/butler/  
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 | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 987 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 987 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

* (English surname): From Middle English Butler. * (Anglicized surname): From French Boutilier, Boutillier, Bouthillier. * (placename): From the surname

## 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, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 8 | 2,982 |
| 1955 | 9 | 2,794 |
| 1956 | 9 | 2,818 |
| 1958 | 7 | 3,312 |
| 1959 | 7 | 3,320 |
| 1960 | 8 | 3,125 |
| 1961 | 7 | 3,393 |
| 1962 | 7 | 3,345 |
| 1964 | 8 | 3,074 |
| 1967 | 5 | 4,030 |
| 1971 | 5 | 5,003 |
| 1976 | 5 | 5,714 |
| 1980 | 10 | 3,883 |
| 1990 | 5 | 8,279 |
| 1996 | 6 | 8,085 |

## People named Butler

- Butler Lampson, American computer scientist (born 1943)
- Stephen Leacock, Canadian writer and economist (1869–1944)
- Wild Bill Hickok, American folk hero and lawman (1837–1876)
- Pierce M. B. Young, Confederate Army general (1836–1896)

## 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.