boy's name
Prince
PRINS
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 28,272
the United States
#447
2025 births
Prince is a boy's name taken from the title, from the Latin princeps — literally "the one who takes first place". It named a role in Rome long before it named royalty, and it is a status word rather than an inherited name.
- Prince is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2019, when 1,164 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,716 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Prince 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.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 180 |
| 1890s | 182 |
| 1900s | 260 |
| 1910s | 744 |
| 1920s | 882 |
| 1930s | 670 |
| 1940s | 679 |
| 1950s | 766 |
| 1960s | 582 |
| 1970s | 607 |
| 1980s | 1,536 |
| 1990s | 1,256 |
| 2000s | 2,336 |
| 2010s | 8,095 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,376 |
What Prince means
Prince means the first or foremost, from the Latin primus, first, and capere, to take. The royal sense came later; the Roman word simply meant the leading man.
Where Prince comes from
Prince comes through Old French from the Latin princeps, built from primus and capere — one who takes first place. Augustus used princeps as his preferred title precisely because it sounded republican rather than monarchical, which is why his system is called the principate. The word narrowed to royalty in medieval Europe. As a given name it belongs with King, Royal and Duke among status words, and it has been in American use since the nineteenth century, particularly in Black communities; the musician Prince Rogers Nelson was named for his father's jazz trio. It appears in our records in every year from 1880.
Prince in use
Prince appears in our records from 1880 and charts in five of the seven countries we track.
How popular is Prince?
In 2025, Prince was given to 703 babies in the United States, ranking #447 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Prince is used
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 Prince
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Prince also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Prince over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Prince
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Prince — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Prince
What does the name Prince mean?
The one who takes first place, from the Latin princeps — primus, first, and capere, to take.
Was princeps a royal title in Rome?
Not at first. Augustus chose it because it sounded republican, which is why his system is called the principate.
Is Prince a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
How popular is the name Prince?
In 2025, Prince was given to 703 babies in the United States, ranking #447 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Prince?
Prince has 1 syllable.
When was Prince most popular?
Prince peaked in 2019, when 1,164 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Prince a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Prince currently ranks #447 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.