Basil Boy & girl
How popular is Basil?
#2,020 boy name in 2025
74 baby boys were named Basil in the US in 2025, making it the 2020th most popular boy name. Another 23 girls got the name (#5,409 for girls).
Basil popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #2,020 for boys (▼ 8 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 74 boys, 23 girls |
| 10-year trend | Rising (+42% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #2,428 in 2015, #2,322 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1924 (281 boys) |
| Highest rank | #321 in 1897 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 74% boys, 26% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.1% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Basil counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Basil family of names ranked #1,425 for boys in 2025 (#1,468 the year before), with 102 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Basil | 74 | 73% |
| Basel | 11 | 11% |
| Bassel | 5 | 5% |
| Bazil | 6 | 6% |
| Basile | 6 | 6% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Basil is most popular
Babies named Basil per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Pennsylvania: 0.1 per 1,000 (22 boys)
- Missouri: 0.0 per 1,000 (6 boys)
- Ohio: 0.0 per 1,000 (11 boys)
- Washington: 0.0 per 1,000 (5 boys)
- California: 0.0 per 1,000 (26 boys)
Basil by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 124 | #416 |
| 1890s | 244 | #321 |
| 1900s | 334 | #328 |
| 1910s | 1,719 | #328 |
| 1920s | 2,451 | #354 |
| 1930s | 1,705 | #386 |
| 1940s | 1,293 | #472 |
| 1950s | 1,090 | #615 |
| 1960s | 873 | #719 |
| 1970s | 577 | #998 |
| 1980s | 572 | #1,000 |
| 1990s | 661 | #1,316 |
| 2000s | 537 | #1,738 |
| 2010s | 548 | #2,041 |
| 2020s | 444 | #1,826 |
Boy names about as popular as Basil
Questions
- Is Basil a boy or girl name?
- Basil is used for both. Over the last 10 years, 74% of babies named Basil were boys and 26% were girls.
- How popular is the name Basil?
- 74 baby boys were named Basil in the US in 2025, making it the 2020th most popular boy name. Another 23 girls got the name (#5,409 for girls).
- When was Basil most popular?
- Basil peaked in 1924, when 281 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #321 in 1897.
- How many people are named Basil?
- 13,538 babies have been named Basil in the US since 1880. We estimate about 5,973 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 45.
- Where is Basil most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Basil was most common in Pennsylvania, at 0.1 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.