Fun Facts About the Name Missouri
- More than 1 thousand babies named Missouri: U.S. records list 1,602 babies given the name Missouri from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Missouri Mean?
Missouri is a place name commonly explained as "people of the big canoes," from the Illinois language, an Algonquian language. The name refers to the Missouri people, a Siouan-speaking tribe, but the name itself is not Siouan; it reached French from the tribe's Illinois-speaking neighbors and then passed into English. The Illinois source is often given as wimihsoorita, a form connected with a word for "canoe." The exact form and literal sense are not fully settled, so "people of the big canoes" is best treated as the conventional interpretation rather than a precise translation.
Missouri Name History & Origins
The name entered European records through French activity in the Mississippi and Missouri river country. French writers used it for the Missouri River and for the Missouri people, and English retained the French form. The river name then supplied the name of the Missouri Territory and, after statehood in 1821, the state of Missouri. As a first name, Missouri is a transferred place name rather than an inherited personal name; its development as a given name is simply the history of the place name carried into given-name use.
How Popular is the Name Missouri?
Missouri recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1889. Its best rank was #339 in 1880.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #12,764 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #10,785 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #14,594 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #7,898 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2019 | #15,013 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #15,068 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #12,524 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #18,386 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #15,933 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #18,959 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #19,586 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #14,635 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #17,268 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #6,363 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #4,450 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1955 | #5,049 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1954 | #3,637 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #3,715 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1951 | #4,271 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #4,606 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #5,075 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #5,076 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #5,467 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #3,914 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #3,092 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1943 | #3,721 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1941 | #2,789 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1940 | #4,839 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #3,081 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1938 | #4,192 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1937 | #2,533 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1936 | #2,645 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1935 | #3,350 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1934 | #2,258 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1933 | #2,119 | 15 | 0.0015% |
| 1932 | #2,328 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1931 | #2,531 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #1,851 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1929 | #1,690 | 23 | 0.0021% |
| 1928 | #1,720 | 24 | 0.0021% |
| 1927 | #1,996 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1926 | #1,756 | 24 | 0.0020% |
| 1925 | #1,564 | 29 | 0.0024% |
| 1924 | #1,431 | 34 | 0.0027% |
| 1923 | #1,930 | 21 | 0.0017% |
| 1922 | #1,355 | 35 | 0.0029% |
| 1921 | #1,272 | 38 | 0.0031% |
| 1920 | #1,499 | 30 | 0.0025% |
| 1919 | #1,263 | 37 | 0.0033% |
| 1918 | #1,630 | 25 | 0.0022% |
| 1917 | #1,174 | 38 | 0.0035% |
| 1916 | #1,324 | 31 | 0.0030% |
| 1915 | #1,389 | 27 | 0.0027% |
| 1914 | #1,294 | 24 | 0.0032% |
| 1913 | #1,297 | 20 | 0.0032% |
| 1912 | #995 | 27 | 0.0048% |
| 1911 | #1,157 | 16 | 0.0038% |
| 1910 | #891 | 24 | 0.0061% |
| 1909 | #838 | 24 | 0.0069% |
| 1908 | #738 | 28 | 0.0084% |
| 1907 | #1,025 | 15 | 0.0047% |
| 1906 | #833 | 20 | 0.0068% |
| 1905 | #755 | 24 | 0.0082% |
| 1904 | #796 | 21 | 0.0076% |
| 1903 | #638 | 28 | 0.0107% |
| 1902 | #580 | 33 | 0.0125% |
| 1901 | #789 | 18 | 0.0075% |
| 1900 | #755 | 24 | 0.0080% |
| 1899 | #782 | 18 | 0.0077% |
| 1898 | #690 | 23 | 0.0089% |
| 1897 | #885 | 14 | 0.0060% |
| 1896 | #630 | 25 | 0.0105% |
| 1895 | #809 | 16 | 0.0068% |
| 1894 | #533 | 30 | 0.0135% |
| 1893 | #529 | 28 | 0.0132% |
| 1892 | #493 | 31 | 0.0146% |
| 1891 | #621 | 19 | 0.0102% |
| 1890 | #519 | 26 | 0.0137% |
| 1889 | #383 | 40 | 0.0224% |
| 1888 | #408 | 37 | 0.0207% |
| 1887 | #407 | 29 | 0.0199% |
| 1886 | #398 | 30 | 0.0208% |
| 1885 | #436 | 24 | 0.0180% |
| 1884 | #422 | 23 | 0.0178% |
| 1883 | #431 | 20 | 0.0178% |
| 1882 | #399 | 21 | 0.0195% |
| 1881 | #413 | 17 | 0.0185% |
| 1880 | #339 | 23 | 0.0253% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Missouri Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Missouri's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Missouri's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.