Rising since 1988, #717 for boys today.
Popularity of Ocean since 1971
Babies named Ocean per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22 | 6 |
| 1980s | 19 | 0 |
| 1990s | 350 | 235 |
| 2000s | 677 | 679 |
| 2010s | 838 | 1,032 |
| 2020s | 1,916 | 2,459 |
Meaning & origin
Ocean is a modern nature name that has been used for both boys and girls since the 1970s. First recorded in the United States in 1974, Ocean has been steadily rising in popularity since 1988 and reached its highest rank to date in 2024. In 2025, it ranked 717th nationally, with approximately 1 in 4,555 newborns receiving the name. The name is especially popular in Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Alabama. While not tied to any ancient tradition, Ocean fits a contemporary trend of vocabulary names drawn from nature, appealing to parents seeking something evocative and unconstrained by gender.
Ocean is taken directly from the English word for the vast sea. It has been used as a given name since the late 20th century, coinciding with a broader trend of nature-inspired vocabulary names. The word itself comes from Latin Oceanus, from Greek Ōkeanós, the name of the great river or sea encircling the world in ancient cosmology.
Where Ocean is most popular
Births per 100,000 boys by state. Press play or drag the slider to watch it move across the decades. The lightest shade means too few recorded births.
“Ocean” around the world
Where Ocean lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
5
babies in 2024
Ireland
4
babies in 2025
New Zealand
14
babies in 2025
Sources: INSEE (France) · CSO Ireland (Ireland) · NZ Dept of Internal Affairs (New Zealand).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Oce, Osh, CeCe
Sibling names for Ocean
Names that share Ocean's style, for a brother or sister.
