ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1914 First Year 2026 Last Year 2000 Peak Year #2457 Peak Rank 567 Total Count 58 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Basel What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Basel, also known as Basle, is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city, with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel) 🏛️Origin & history For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Basel . [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Basel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Basel_-_M%C3%BCnsterpfalz1.jpg/330px-Basel_-_M%C3%BCnsterpfalz1.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel) 📖 ## The Story of Basel Basel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1914, with 8 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2000, when 21 Basels were born — ranking #3,764 that year. As of 2026, Basel ranks #6,309 for baby boys with 13 births, rising sharply (+20% over the past five years). In total, more than 567 Basels have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1910s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Basel A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Gaspard Bauhin (1560–1624), botanist and anatomist * ●Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650), engraver * ●Johannes Buxtorf II (1599–1664), Protestant Christian Hebraist * ●Johannes Jakob Buxtorf (1645–1705), professor of Hebrew * ●Jacob Bernoulli (1654–1705), mathematician * ●Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748), mathematician * ●Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693–1754), theologian and New Testament critic * ●Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), mathematician and physicist, best known for his work in fluid dynamics, see Bernoulli's principle Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Basel Phonetically similar names — useful when Basel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Basil](/basil) * Bezel * Bezzle * Bizzle * Bazzle * [Bazil](/bazil) * [Basile](/basile) * [Bazel](/bazel) * Bizzell * Bazile * Buzzell * Bozell Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Basel What does the name Basel mean? Basel, also known as Basle, is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city, with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. How popular is Basel in 2026? In 2026, Basel ranks #6,309 among boys' names in the U.S., with 13 babies given the name that year. When was Basel most popular? Basel reached its peak popularity in 2000, ranking #2,457 that year with 21 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Basel most popular? Basel has historically been most popular in Texas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Basel. Is Basel a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Basel is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name. What names go well with Basel? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Basel include Shed, Bohumil, Moultrie. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👦ShedPeak #2457](/shed)[👦BohumilPeak #2457](/bohumil)[👦MoultriePeak #2457](/moultrie)[👦VarnerPeak #2457](/varner)[👦WillsonPeak #2457](/willson)[👦AhPeak #2458](/ah)[👦FountPeak #2458](/fount)[👦FinesPeak #2458](/fines) ## About the name Basel Basel is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1914 and has accumulated 567 births in the dataset. Basel's peak popularity came in 2000 when it ranked #2,457\. Use the chart and map above to compare Basel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2000 → ](/year/2000) * [ Names of the 2000s → ](/decade/2000s) * [ Names starting with "B" → ](/letter/b) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.