# Porter (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/porter/  
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 | “porter”, “doorman”, “door”, “bearer”, “to carry” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 21,801 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 20,808 / 993 (5% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 96, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Porter, from porter (“porter”), * From Old French portier (“doorman”), from porte (“door”) * From Old French portour (“bearer”), from porter (“to carry”)

## 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 | 27 | 5,170 |
| 2012 | 33 | 4,463 |
| 2013 | 28 | 4,995 |
| 2014 | 40 | 3,831 |
| 2015 | 59 | 2,960 |
| 2016 | 56 | 3,004 |
| 2017 | 46 | 3,427 |
| 2018 | 48 | 3,334 |
| 2019 | 55 | 2,987 |
| 2020 | 58 | 2,846 |
| 2021 | 66 | 2,634 |
| 2022 | 81 | 2,312 |
| 2023 | 71 | 2,511 |
| 2024 | 74 | 2,454 |
| 2025 | 68 | 2,578 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 602 | 450 |
| 2012 | 644 | 430 |
| 2013 | 778 | 384 |
| 2014 | 857 | 368 |
| 2015 | 862 | 377 |
| 2016 | 749 | 419 |
| 2017 | 802 | 399 |
| 2018 | 749 | 419 |
| 2019 | 613 | 478 |
| 2020 | 707 | 424 |
| 2021 | 698 | 443 |
| 2022 | 592 | 506 |
| 2023 | 605 | 500 |
| 2024 | 464 | 618 |
| 2025 | 531 | 560 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 4 | 3,744 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4,678 |
| 2011 | 3 | 4,647 |
| 2013 | 8 | 2,403 |
| 2014 | 5 | 3,362 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2,707 |
| 2016 | 7 | 2,804 |
| 2017 | 7 | 2,734 |
| 2018 | 10 | 2,112 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,013 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,682 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,546 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 波特
- French: Porter, Portier
- Polish: Porter

## People named Porter

- Archer John Porter Martin, British chemist (1910–2002)
- Porter Robinson, American DJ, singer and record producer (born 1992)
- Porter Goss, American politician and first Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Porter Wagoner, American country singer (1927–2007)
- Edward Porter Alexander, Confederate Army general (1835-1910)
- Porter Hall, American actor (1888-1953)
- Porter H. Dale, American politician (1867–1933)
- Porter J. McCumber, American politician (1858–1933)
- Nellie Melba, Australian opera singer (1861–1931)
- Brian Kemp, American politician (born 1963)

## 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.