boy's name
Victor
VIK-tər
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 486,425
the United States
#209
2025 births
Victor is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "conqueror." It comes from vincere, to conquer, and early Christians took it for the victory over death rather than in battle.
- Victor is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1990, when 4,472 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,992 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Victor 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 | 1,242 |
| 1890s | 1,811 |
| 1900s | 2,452 |
| 1910s | 17,254 |
| 1920s | 21,676 |
| 1930s | 15,681 |
| 1940s | 22,615 |
| 1950s | 34,038 |
| 1960s | 37,061 |
| 1970s | 26,994 |
| 1980s | 32,614 |
| 1990s | 41,284 |
| 2000s | 40,777 |
| 2010s | 26,179 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,542 |
What Victor means
Victor means one who conquers or wins. The Latin is agentive — it names the doer of the action, so the name describes someone who has prevailed rather than someone who might.
Where Victor comes from
Victor comes from the Latin victor, from vincere, to conquer — the same verb behind Vincent, victory, convince and invincible. Early Christians adopted it heavily, reading it as victory over death rather than over an enemy, and three popes and a large number of saints bore it. The name has stayed continuously in use across the Romance languages and Slavic Europe, and Victor Hugo is its best-known bearer.
Victor in use
Our data shows Victor falling, peaking in 1990, at 209 in the United States against 312 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1880 and has never dropped out. It sits alongside Vinnie and Vincent in our data — three entries from the same Latin verb, and our Vinnie entry records the widest transatlantic gap we hold.
How popular is Victor?
In 2025, Victor was given to 1,664 babies in the United States, ranking #209 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Victor 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 Victor
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Victor also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Victor over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
4 nicknames for Victor
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Victor in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Victor
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Victor — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Victor
What does the name Victor mean?
Victor means "conqueror," from the Latin vincere, to conquer.
Is Victor related to Vincent?
Yes — both come from vincere. Victor names the winner; Vincent means conquering.
Why did early Christians use it?
They read it as victory over death rather than over an enemy, which made it acceptable where a battle name would not have been.
How popular is the name Victor?
In 2025, Victor was given to 1,664 babies in the United States, ranking #209 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Victor a girl's or a boy's name?
Victor is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Victor?
Victor has 2 syllables.
When was Victor most popular?
Victor peaked in 1990, when 4,472 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Victor?
Victor is usually shortened to Vic, Vicky, Vito and Tory.
Is Victor a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Victor currently ranks #28 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.