Buddy
Derived from the English word for "friend" or "comrade".
Name Census estimates that about 12,481 living Americans carry the first name Buddy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Buddy today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Buddy births was 1935 (604 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Buddy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Buddy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 27,462 Americans
Peak year
1935
604 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,795
Tracked since 1893
Census
Buddy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,009 people with the first name Buddy, which placed it at #2,465 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,465
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,009 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buddy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Buddy is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Buddy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Buddy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 8,456
- Black or African American4.4% · 439
- Two or more races3.8% · 380
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 356
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 162
Gender
Gender distribution for Buddy
Out of the 22,561 babies given the name Buddy since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Buddy as a male name
- Ranked #3,795 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1935 (604 births)
Buddy as a female name
- Ranked #9,231 in 1980
- 6 female births in 1980
- Peak: 1938 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Buddy leans strongly male. 9,893 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 119 female bearers (1.2%).
Popularity
Buddy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Buddy from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 5,115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Buddy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Buddy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Buddys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, California, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Buddy, while Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 485 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Buddy
The name Buddy has its origins in the English language, originating as a nickname or term of endearment. It is believed to have derived from the Middle English word "bud," which means a close friend or companion.
In the 16th century, the term "buddy" started being used as a friendly address for a male companion or comrade. It was often used among soldiers and sailors, reflecting the strong bonds formed between those who served together. The name's popularity grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the United States.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Buddy can be found in the 1906 novel "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, where a character is referred to as "Buddy Dorset." However, it was not commonly used as a given name until the 20th century.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Buddy was Buddy Holly, an American singer-songwriter and pioneer of rock and roll music. Born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936, he was a influential figure in the late 1950s with hits like "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be the Day." Tragically, his life was cut short in a plane crash in 1959 at the age of 22.
Another notable Buddy was Buddy Rich, an American jazz drummer and bandleader born in 1917. He was known for his incredible technical skills and was considered one of the greatest drummers of all time. Rich performed with many legendary jazz musicians and led his own big band until his death in 1987 at the age of 69.
In the world of sports, Buddy Ryan (1931-2016) was a successful American football coach, best known for his tenure as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears' legendary 1985 defense.
Buddy Ebsen (1908-2003) was an American actor and dancer, most famously known for his role as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series "The Beverly Hillbillies." He had a prolific career spanning over seven decades.
Finally, Buddy Hackett (1924-2003) was an American comedian and actor, known for his roles in films like "The Music Man" and his appearances on various television shows. He was a versatile performer and a beloved figure in the entertainment industry.
While the name Buddy may have started as a friendly nickname, it has become a popular given name in its own right, with a rich history and numerous notable individuals who have borne it over the years.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Buddy
People
Buddy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Buddy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Buddy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Buddy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,481 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Buddy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 27,462 US residents.
Is Buddy a common name?
We classify Buddy as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,561 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Buddy most popular?
The single biggest year for Buddy was 1935, when 604 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Buddy is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Buddy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,009 people with the name Buddy, or 3.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,465 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Buddy in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Buddy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Buddy leans strongly male. 9,893 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 119 female bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Buddy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Buddy is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Buddy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Buddy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (8,456 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Buddy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Buddy a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Buddy in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Buddy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Buddy in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Buddy can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Buddy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.