Fun Facts About the Name North
- 406 babies named North: U.S. records list 406 babies given the name North from 1880 through 2025. Even 74 girls received the name North - about 1 girl for every 4 boys.
What Does the Name North Mean?
North is an English word name taken directly from the everyday noun and compass direction, meaning "the northern direction." It comes from Old English norþ, the ordinary word for the north, which descends from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą; the same Germanic word underlies Dutch noord, German Nord, and Old Norse norðr. The Germanic form is usually traced to an older Indo-European root reconstructed as *ner-, thought to have meant "left" or "below," because a person facing the sunrise has the north on the left. That older root is a scholarly reconstruction rather than a recorded word, and the reasoning behind it is an inference from how ancient speakers oriented themselves.
North differs from names such as John or Katherine in that it did not enter English through a saint, a biblical figure, or a borrowed foreign personal name. Its meaning as a name is simply the literal meaning of the word. Figurative uses of the word in English - the north as a cold or distant frontier, or "true north" as a fixed point of guidance - are later developments in the language and are not part of the name's etymology.
North Name History & Origins
Old English norþ is recorded from the earliest English writing and appears constantly in place names, among them Norþwic ("north settlement," the origin of Norwich) and Northumberland, the land of the people north of the Humber. From place names of this kind, and from descriptions of where a person lived, the word also became an English surname: a North might be someone who lived at the north end of a village or who came from a place called North. The surname is found in medieval England and was borne by Frederick North, Lord North, the British prime minister during the American Revolution.
As a first name, North is uncommon and non-traditional in English. It fits the modern English and American practice of using ordinary words - directions, seasons, plants, virtues - as personal names, and it also appears occasionally as a given name honoring a family surname. Fictional use includes the boy at the center of the 1994 film North. In 2013 the name was given to North West, the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, a widely reported use that made North familiar to the public as a girl's first name.
How Popular is the Name North?
North recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2013. Its best rank was #906 in 1885.
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 | #9,922 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #11,836 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #10,921 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #10,201 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #11,897 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #14,653 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #8,972 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #17,482 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #15,906 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,350 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #10,581 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #6,789 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #7,597 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #9,442 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #11,590 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #10,495 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #8,630 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #5,450 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #7,022 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #7,884 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #6,529 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #4,568 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #6,558 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #4,779 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2010 | #4,980 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2009 | #7,563 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #7,075 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #8,005 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #7,288 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #9,660 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #8,401 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #11,951 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #6,201 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #8,463 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #9,305 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #4,877 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1996 | #7,724 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1930 | #3,498 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1927 | #4,625 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1921 | #4,790 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,774 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #4,618 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1885 | #906 | 6 | 0.0056% |
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 North Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a vivid imagination who can bring inspired messages to the world. You like to enjoy the pleasures of life, and when self is overcome, you can rise to the heights. You have an ability to avoid trouble - that is why you often fails to learn from experiences. You are restless, sociable people-oriented, a lover of change, and a seeker of adventure and new thrills. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ North's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover North's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.