Fun Facts About the Name Usher
- More than 1 thousand babies named Usher: U.S. records list 1,303 babies given the name Usher from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Usher Mean?
Usher is an English occupational name meaning "doorkeeper." It comes from Middle English ussher and uscher, borrowed from Anglo-Norman French ussier and uissier. Those forms derive from Latin ostiarius, "doorkeeper," from ostium, "door."
The literal sense is an officer who kept a door or controlled entry. In modern English, the common noun usher also means someone who escorts or seats people, but the name keeps the older sense of doorkeeper. The spelling Ussher is a variant of the same surname. Usher is not related to the similar-sounding biblical name Asher, which comes from Hebrew.
Usher Name History & Origins
The word entered Middle English from Anglo-Norman French in the medieval period. An usher was a household officer who guarded a door, controlled access to a lord's hall, or introduced visitors at court. The surname arose from men who held that office, and it appears in England in the Middle Ages in spellings such as Ussher, Usher, and Usscher.
In Ireland, the surname Ussher became well known through James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh from 1625 to 1656, a scholar remembered for his chronology of the Bible. The spelling Usher is also found in Ireland. As a first name, Usher is a transferred use of the surname; it is uncommon and appears mainly in English-speaking countries.
The surname is familiar from Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 story "The Fall of the House of Usher," but that is a literary use of the family name, not evidence of the name's origin. The American singer Usher Raymond IV, born in 1978, is a modern bearer of Usher as a given name.
How Popular is the Name Usher?
Usher has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,974 in 2025.
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 | #1,974 | 78 | 0.0046% |
| 2024 | #2,332 | 61 | 0.0036% |
| 2023 | #2,339 | 60 | 0.0035% |
| 2022 | #2,912 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2021 | #2,914 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 2020 | #3,130 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2019 | #2,360 | 58 | 0.0032% |
| 2018 | #3,235 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 2017 | #3,370 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2016 | #2,930 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 2015 | #2,715 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2014 | #3,526 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2013 | #2,842 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 2012 | #2,235 | 59 | 0.0031% |
| 2011 | #2,742 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 2010 | #3,445 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2009 | #3,219 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2008 | #2,750 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 2007 | #3,244 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #2,977 | 38 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #2,490 | 46 | 0.0023% |
| 2004 | #2,567 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 2003 | #5,245 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #3,184 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2001 | #4,291 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2000 | #4,770 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #3,976 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1998 | #3,482 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1997 | #3,729 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #6,470 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #4,262 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1994 | #6,941 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #5,751 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #5,217 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #6,490 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #8,066 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,890 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #8,434 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #5,902 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #7,534 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #4,978 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #4,934 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #6,021 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #5,740 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #5,815 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #2,860 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1957 | #4,517 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1955 | #3,484 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #2,792 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1934 | #3,653 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1928 | #4,683 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #4,789 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1914 | #3,725 | 5 | 0.0008% |
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.
Explore More Lists with Name Usher
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with U
Unique Short Boy Names That Start with U
How the Name Usher Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have talent, charm and luck. You can succeed in art and in any educational occupation. You attract peculiar experiences. Your power and protection lies in spiritual side of life. You are an enthusiastic collector and you will be tenacious in holding onto the things you accumulate. You have a good memory and should make an effort to have a positive attitude. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Usher's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Usher's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.