At a glance
- In short
- Banks is an English surname for someone living on a hillside or by a riverbank.
- U.S. rank 2025
- #310 of boy names
- Babies in 2025
- 1,099 (0.060% of boys)
- Trend
- Rising #753 in 2020 to #310 in 2025
- Peak
- #310 in 2025
- First recorded
- 1883
Meaning of Banks
Banks is an English and Scottish surname now used as a boy's first name. It began as a name for someone who lived on a hillside or beside a riverbank, from the Middle English word banke, a word of Scandinavian origin. It is pronounced BANKS (/bæŋks/), rhyming with thanks.
Well-known bearers of the surname include Sir Joseph Banks, the English naturalist who sailed with Captain James Cook, and Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame baseball player for the Chicago Cubs. The American singer-songwriter Banks also records under the name.
In the U.S., Banks reached its highest rank yet in 2025, when 1,099 boys were given the name and it placed 310th. It stood at 1,389th in 2016, and it ranks No. 58 among the 1,000 most popular boys' names of 2025 ordered by how fast each climbed the rankings from 2016 to 2025.
How to pronounce Banks
English
- Pronounced BANKS /bæŋks/
Popularity of Banks in the U.S.
Banks was the #310 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,099 babies. It has been in the top 1,000 since 2019. It first appears in the records in 1883.
- Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 1883–2025 86 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,099 | 310 | ▲ 56 |
| 2024 | 902 | 366 | ▼ 18 |
| 2023 | 941 | 348 | ▲ 60 |
| 2022 | 787 | 408 | ▲ 96 |
| 2021 | 582 | 504 | ▲ 249 |
| 2020 | 322 | 753 | ▲ 160 |
| 2019 | 241 | 913 | ▲ 289 |
| 2018 | 156 | 1,202 | ▲ 286 |
| 2017 | 113 | 1,488 | ▼ 99 |
| 2016 | 126 | 1,389 | ▲ 149 |
| 2015 | 106 | 1,538 | ▲ 132 |
| 2014 | 92 | 1,670 | ▲ 608 |
| 2013 | 56 | 2,278 | ▼ 295 |
| 2012 | 71 | 1,983 | ▲ 334 |
| 2011 | 55 | 2,317 | ▲ 194 |
| 2010 | 49 | 2,511 | ▲ 191 |
| 2009 | 45 | 2,702 | ▲ 1,219 |
| 2008 | 26 | 3,921 | ▲ 1,075 |
| 2007 | 18 | 4,996 | ▼ 1,913 |
| 2006 | 35 | 3,083 | ▲ 532 |
| 2005 | 26 | 3,615 | ▲ 2,905 |
| 2004 | 11 | 6,520 | ▼ 962 |
| 2003 | 13 | 5,558 | ▲ 530 |
| 2002 | 11 | 6,088 | ▼ 1,198 |
| 2001 | 15 | 4,890 | ▼ 317 |
| 2000 | 16 | 4,573 | ▲ 1,469 |
| 1999 | 10 | 6,042 | ▲ 1,518 |
| 1998 | 7 | 7,560 | ▲ 550 |
| 1997 | 6 | 8,110 | ▼ 1,614 |
| 1996 | 8 | 6,496 | back (not recorded in 1991–1995) |
| 1990 | 9 | 5,382 | back (not recorded in 1989) |
| 1988 | 6 | 6,426 | back (not recorded in 1987) |
| 1986 | 7 | 5,332 | back (not recorded in 1975–1985) |
| 1974 | 5 | 5,228 | back (not recorded in 1971–1973) |
| 1970 | 5 | 4,724 | back (not recorded in 1967–1969) |
| 1966 | 5 | 3,948 | back (not recorded in 1962–1965) |
| 1961 | 5 | 4,066 | ▼ 28 |
| 1960 | 5 | 4,038 | back (not recorded in 1958–1959) |
| 1957 | 5 | 3,993 | ▼ 777 |
| 1956 | 7 | 3,216 | ▼ 252 |
| 1955 | 8 | 2,964 | ▼ 221 |
| 1954 | 9 | 2,743 | back (not recorded in 1953) |
| 1952 | 10 | 2,514 | ▲ 148 |
| 1951 | 9 | 2,662 | back (not recorded in 1950) |
| 1949 | 5 | 3,690 | ▼ 374 |
| 1948 | 6 | 3,316 | ▼ 960 |
| 1947 | 11 | 2,356 | ▲ 334 |
| 1946 | 8 | 2,690 | back (not recorded in 1944–1945) |
| 1943 | 6 | 3,231 | ▼ 519 |
| 1942 | 8 | 2,712 | ▼ 56 |
| 1941 | 8 | 2,656 | ▲ 15 |
| 1940 | 8 | 2,671 | ▼ 383 |
| 1939 | 10 | 2,288 | ▲ 358 |
| 1938 | 8 | 2,646 | ▼ 167 |
| 1937 | 9 | 2,479 | ▲ 375 |
| 1936 | 7 | 2,854 | ▲ 97 |
| 1935 | 7 | 2,951 | ▼ 558 |
| 1934 | 10 | 2,393 | ▲ 611 |
| 1933 | 7 | 3,004 | ▼ 539 |
| 1932 | 10 | 2,465 | ▲ 186 |
| 1931 | 9 | 2,651 | ▼ 42 |
| 1930 | 10 | 2,609 | ▼ 410 |
| 1929 | 13 | 2,199 | ▼ 151 |
| 1928 | 15 | 2,048 | ▼ 14 |
| 1927 | 16 | 2,034 | ▲ 691 |
| 1926 | 10 | 2,725 | ▼ 412 |
| 1925 | 13 | 2,313 | ▲ 328 |
| 1924 | 11 | 2,641 | ▼ 195 |
| 1923 | 12 | 2,446 | ▼ 802 |
| 1922 | 22 | 1,644 | ▲ 732 |
| 1921 | 13 | 2,376 | ▼ 734 |
| 1920 | 22 | 1,642 | ▲ 169 |
| 1919 | 18 | 1,811 | ▲ 354 |
| 1918 | 14 | 2,165 | ▲ 258 |
| 1917 | 11 | 2,423 | ▼ 164 |
| 1916 | 12 | 2,259 | ▲ 362 |
| 1915 | 9 | 2,621 | ▼ 164 |
| 1914 | 8 | 2,457 | ▼ 512 |
| 1913 | 9 | 1,945 | ▲ 324 |
| 1912 | 6 | 2,269 | ▼ 732 |
| 1911 | 6 | 1,537 | back (not recorded in 1910) |
| 1909 | 7 | 1,155 | back (not recorded in 1906–1908) |
| 1905 | 7 | 1,002 | back (not recorded in 1892–1904) |
| 1891 | 5 | 963 | back (not recorded in 1888–1890) |
| 1887 | 8 | 679 | back (not recorded in 1884–1886) |
| 1883 | 5 | 892 | new |
Banks by state
Banks ranks #105 in Utah (2025).
Rank by state 40 states
| State | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 105 | 50 |
| Montana | 127 | 10 |
| Kansas | 142 | 26 |
| Iowa | 143 | 29 |
| South Dakota | 145 | 9 |
| Idaho | 150 | 18 |
| Arkansas | 151 | 24 |
| Oklahoma | 162 | 30 |
| Alabama | 163 | 35 |
| West Virginia | 168 | 11 |
| North Carolina | 175 | 71 |
| Georgia | 178 | 70 |
| North Dakota | 191 | 6 |
| South Carolina | 194 | 29 |
| Nebraska | 210 | 12 |
| Mississippi | 215 | 14 |
| Colorado | 229 | 28 |
| Minnesota | 231 | 27 |
| Missouri | 245 | 29 |
| Maryland | 268 | 20 |
| Tennessee | 269 | 33 |
| Washington | 271 | 27 |
| Oregon | 281 | 15 |
| Indiana | 292 | 27 |
| Wisconsin | 317 | 17 |
| Florida | 331 | 58 |
| Louisiana | 337 | 15 |
| Ohio | 349 | 32 |
| Michigan | 363 | 24 |
| Virginia | 365 | 22 |
| Texas | 372 | 99 |
| Kentucky | 375 | 13 |
| Arizona | 392 | 19 |
| Pennsylvania | 427 | 24 |
| Nevada | 443 | 6 |
| Massachusetts | 467 | 10 |
| Illinois | 513 | 19 |
| California | 543 | 56 |
| New Jersey | 1,022 | 5 |
| New York | 1,055 | 11 |
Notable people named Banks
- Banks is an American singer and songwriter whose acclaimed debut album Goddess produced the platinum single Beggin for Thread, followed by The Altar, the widely praised III, the independent Serpentina, and Off with Her Head.