Canon
Boy · KAN-on · English
Canon is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “rule, measuring rod”. In 2025 it ranked 2,207th for boys in the US (64 babies).
What does Canon mean?
English: English word, via Latin from Greek kanon
“rule, measuring rod”
From Greek kanon, 'measuring rod, rule'; a canon is also a cathedral clergyman or a body of accepted works.
- Say it
- KAN-on
Is Canon a girl's or a boy's name?
Canon is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls and 64 boys in the US.
How popular is Canon in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,207among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 64about 1 in 27,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 35% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 64 boys in the US were named Canon, making it the 2,207th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,489th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 129 boys. It first appears in the records in 1971. 5 girls were also named Canon in 2025 (14,937th for girls).
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Canon than any year since 2002.
Half of all the boys named Canon in the US since 1880 were born between 2006 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 979 boys in the US were given Canon or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #347, up from #2,207 for this spelling alone.
Canon in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 64 | #2,207 |
| 2024 | 82 | #1,921 |
| 2023 | 86 | #1,851 |
| 2022 | 112 | #1,574 |
| 2021 | 98 | #1,678 |
| 2020 | 114 | #1,489 |
| 2019 | 129 | #1,380 |
| 2018 | 115 | #1,498 |
| 2017 | 113 | #1,488 |
| 2016 | 89 | #1,739 |
| 2015 | 86 | #1,767 |
| 2014 | 127 | #1,348 |
| 2013 | 100 | #1,563 |
| 2012 | 117 | #1,419 |
| 2011 | 120 | #1,385 |
| 2010 | 108 | #1,503 |
| 2009 | 106 | #1,545 |
| 2008 | 109 | #1,494 |
| 2007 | 99 | #1,576 |
| 2006 | 104 | #1,467 |
| 2005 | 87 | #1,582 |
| 2004 | 79 | #1,626 |
| 2003 | 79 | #1,588 |
| 2002 | 61 | #1,847 |
| 2001 | 36 | #2,613 |
| 2000 | 50 | #2,011 |
| 1999 | 38 | #2,344 |
| 1998 | 29 | #2,779 |
| 1997 | 41 | #2,123 |
| 1996 | 25 | #2,906 |
| 1995 | 23 | #3,015 |
| 1994 | 10 | #5,446 |
| 1993 | 15 | #4,013 |
| 1992 | 11 | #4,864 |
| 1991 | 7 | #6,511 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,408 |
| 1989 | 7 | #6,222 |
| 1988 | 8 | #5,194 |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,453 |
| 1986 | 6 | #5,920 |
| 1985 | 9 | #4,328 |
| 1984 | 6 | #5,557 |
| 1983 | 7 | #4,904 |
| 1982 | 5 | #6,383 |
| 1981 | 6 | #5,466 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 6 | #5,056 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 8 | #3,656 |
Names like Canon
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Deacon Brayden Keegan Kayden Declan Finnegan Aiden Finn Ronan Callan Raiden Kian
Other spellings of Canon
Names related to Canon
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