When Do Babies Recognize Their Name?

The way babies grow — both physically and intellectually — is truly astounding. They rack up new skills like tiny superheroes discovering incredible powers.

One of those first-year milestones: When baby starts to recognize their name.

Here’s when it usually happens and what it means for your baby’s development.

When do infants respond to their name?

Most babies will start to recognize their name by about 9 months old.

“That’s about when you can expect that your baby will more consistently look at you, and maybe smile, when you say their name,” says pediatrician Kristin Barrett, MD. “Name recognition is one of their early sense-of-self milestones.”

What does that mean?

Very young babies don’t yet realize that they’re their own being. That kind of meta-understanding of personhood is something that develops over time. And one part of that self-discovery process happens as babies learn to connect with their name.

What’s more, learning their name takes a certain mastery of language. And it takes some time and practice for that to happen.

Here’s a breakdown of the journey to recognizing their name.

Newborn to 2 months

In the first few months of their lives, babies are mostly just getting the hang of things out in the world. They’re learning what it feels like to be hungry, tired, cold, gassy and more.

In those first three months, babies are mostly looking around, listening and taking it all in. Of course, what they see and hear doesn’t mean much to them yet. But it will soon enough.

3 to 6 months

Around this time, your baby will start to understand more about themselves and make strides in developing language skills.

“They start to discover their own body parts,” Dr. Barrett shares. “They might stare at their hands. Or grab a foot and try to bite it.” That’s one of the first times they start to realize what their body is and how it moves.

This is also when your baby may start to purposefully make sounds like cooing, gurgling, oooh-ing and aaah-ing. They might start to use non-verbal language, too, like smiling and laughing.

6 to 9 months

As they head into the second half of their first year, your baby’s language skills will really ramp up.

Around six months, they may also start to recognize their name, but probably not all the time. By about 9 months old, you can expect that when you address them by name, they’ll consistently look your way and know that you’re speaking to them specifically.

This is also the time when some big motor skills, like crawling, start to come into play. And recognizing their name can be a helpful skill as they start to move and groove all over the house.

Now, just because they might recognize their name doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily follow the rest of what you say. So, if you’re hollering, “Junior, get your head out of the dog food bowl!” they probably won’t follow your advice. That’s a pretty complex command, after all.

But chances are, they’ll recognize that you’re trying to get their attention. They might even stop what they’re doing and look your way — giving you a moment to scoop them up before they chow down on kibble.

This is the time when other language skills should be accelerating, too. Your baby might:

• Wave
• Point
• Clap
• Imitate your tone
• Use sounds to voice their emotions, like grunting when they’re mad or squealing when they’re happy

They’ll also start to make word sounds, even if they don’t yet know what they mean.

“Around 6 months is when we expect that you’ll start to hear a lot more babbling,” Dr. Barrett shares. “Things like da-da or ma-ma. They may not necessarily associate those sounds with people or objects yet. But they’re starting to mimic those consonant-vowel sounds.”

Connecting mama or dada to a person and using those words to get your attention should start to happen around their first birthday.

Consistency is key

How can you help baby recognize their name?

Use it often.

“The more they hear their name, the more likely they are to start to learn it,” Dr. Barrett advises.

That goes for other language skills, too. Babies learn to speak by hearing you speak. That’s also how they start to make connections between words and the objects and people they represent.

So, talk with them often. Narrate your day. Point out the trees, cars, flowers and birds as you go on a walk. Call them by their name — not “baby,” “pumpkin” or other nicknames.

The more they hear, the more they’ll be ready to use those words and respond to them when their own language skills catch up.

Babies tend to hit certain milestones around certain times. But not always.

If you’re concerned that your baby isn’t recognizing their name or responding to other words, talk with your child’s healthcare provider, like their pediatrician. They may want to check baby’s hearing or perform other tests to track their development.