boy's name

Foster

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 6
  • Popularity Top 1000 (US)
  • Births on record 14,026

the United States

#902

2025 births

Foster is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 278 babies in the United States, ranking #902. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

  • Peaked in 2025, when 278 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 11,926 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Foster over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

1,988
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Foster by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 241
1890s 351
1900s 343
1910s 1,411
1920s 1,660
1930s 1,041
1940s 1,070
1950s 757
1960s 476
1970s 359
1980s 361
1990s 873
2000s 1,009
2010s 1,988
2020s (to 2025) 1,468

How popular is Foster?

In 2025, Foster was given to 278 babies in the United States, ranking #902 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Foster is used

United States #902 278 in 2025
Canada #1,454 16 in 2024
England & Wales #5,111 4 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Foster

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Foster also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Foster over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Foster

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Foster — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Foster

How popular is the name Foster?

In 2025, Foster was given to 278 babies in the United States, ranking #902 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Is Foster a girl's or a boy's name?

Foster is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Foster?

Foster has 2 syllables.

When was Foster most popular?

Foster peaked in 2025, when 278 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.

Is Foster a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Foster currently ranks #902 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.