# Ramsey (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ramsey/  
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 and girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “wild garlic”, “island” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹæmzi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Ramsay |
| US babies named this | 8,861 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,602 / 2,259 (25% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 229, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English hramsa (“wild garlic”) + īeġ (“island”).

## 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 | 52 | 3,214 |
| 2012 | 55 | 3,082 |
| 2013 | 49 | 3,306 |
| 2014 | 60 | 2,882 |
| 2015 | 83 | 2,274 |
| 2016 | 115 | 1,809 |
| 2017 | 111 | 1,851 |
| 2018 | 114 | 1,796 |
| 2019 | 109 | 1,859 |
| 2020 | 94 | 2,000 |
| 2021 | 120 | 1,728 |
| 2022 | 67 | 2,630 |
| 2023 | 92 | 2,104 |
| 2024 | 70 | 2,551 |
| 2025 | 76 | 2,377 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 105 | 1,521 |
| 2012 | 101 | 1,572 |
| 2013 | 119 | 1,410 |
| 2014 | 94 | 1,651 |
| 2015 | 131 | 1,345 |
| 2016 | 150 | 1,244 |
| 2017 | 152 | 1,211 |
| 2018 | 128 | 1,383 |
| 2019 | 139 | 1,319 |
| 2020 | 123 | 1,411 |
| 2021 | 134 | 1,376 |
| 2022 | 121 | 1,502 |
| 2023 | 97 | 1,724 |
| 2024 | 94 | 1,763 |
| 2025 | 78 | 1,970 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | 2,194 |
| 2012 | 16 | 1,507 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 13 | 1,721 |
| 2015 | 13 | 1,786 |
| 2016 | 13 | 1,804 |
| 2017 | 18 | 1,398 |
| 2018 | 13 | 1,786 |
| 2019 | 14 | 1,655 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,404 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,017 |
| 2022 | 10 | 2,165 |
| 2023 | 6 | 3,112 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2,671 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3,684 |

## People named Ramsey

- Ramsey Clark, American lawyer and peace activist (1927–2021)
- Ramsey Lewis, American jazz composer (1935–2022)
- Ramsey Angela, Dutch athlete
- Ramsey Nasr, Dutch actor
- Irving Ramsey Wiles, American artist (1861-1948)

## 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.