First words
Most babies say their first word somewhere around their first birthday. About half say one by 10 months, and nearly all by 16 months.
How sure are we?
Very sure. Large studies in five countries agree, though all of them relied on what parents reported. How we know this
What it’s a sign of
Your child has started using a sound on purpose to mean a particular thing, even if it doesn't sound quite like the grown-up word.
Studies don't all count the same words. "Mama" and "dada" are the words parents most often name first, and some studies leave them out. That makes little difference to the ages. The CDC lists saying 1 or 2 words besides "mama" or "dada" at 15 months, later than the ages above. That's because it uses the age by which about 3 in 4 children have started, rounded up to the next check-up. Ages also differ a little between places: in a study in Argentina, India, South Africa and Turkey, half of children had a first word by about 9 months, and in most languages studied, half do somewhere between 9 and 12 months.
We can't say how early the earliest talkers start: the word lists parents fill in begin at 8 months, and many children already have a word by then. All the studies relied on what parents reported, and the largest come from the United States.
A main source for the ages
Share of children saying at least one word, by age: our count from Wordbank v3.4
MyHappyBub (analysis of Wordbank open data) · 2026
- Children
- About 5,900 word lists for children aged 8 to 18 months
- Where
- The United States (children learning English)
- Ages
- 8 to 18 months
- How
- Our own count from parents' word lists in the open Wordbank collection (12 studies)
- What it found
- About half of children were said to say at least one word by 10 months, 3 in 4 by 12 months, and nearly all (95 in 100) by 16 months. "Mommy" and "daddy" counted as words.
- Limits
- Based on parents' reports. Each month is a different group of children, so single months go up and down a little. The word lists start at 8 months, so they can't show how early the earliest talkers start.
A main source for the ages
Large-scale investigations of variability in children's first words
Rose M. Schneider, Daniel Yurovsky, Michael C. Frank · 2015 · Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
- Children
- About 2,300 children
- Where
- Mostly the United States
- Ages
- Babies and toddlers, asked about their first word
- How
- Parents told researchers their child's first word and when it was said. One group came from parents' word lists instead.
- What it found
- About half of children had said their first word by 10 months, and more than 3 in 4 by their first birthday. This held in all four groups of children. "Mama" and "dada" weren't counted.
- Limits
- It relies on parents remembering. Most families were in the United States, and some groups were more educated than average. Some surveys couldn't record ages before 8 or 10 months.
A main source for the ages
Evidence-Informed Milestones for Developmental Surveillance Tools
Jennifer M. Zubler, Lisa D. Wiggins, Michelle M. Macias, Toni M. Whitaker, Judith S. Shaw, Jane K. Squires, Julie A. Pajek, Rebecca B. Wolf, Karnesha S. Slaughter, Amber S. Broughton, Krysta L. Gerndt, Bethany J. Mlodoch, Paul H. Lipkin · 2022 · Pediatrics
- Children
- A review of 34 studies and common checklists, not one group of children
- Where
- Studies from many countries (14 of the 24 with age data were from countries where English isn't the main language)
- Ages
- 2 months to 5 years
- How
- Experts reviewed studies and checklists, then placed each milestone at the check-up age by which about 3 in 4 children do it
- What it found
- Places calling a parent "mama" or "dada" at 12 months, and saying 1 or 2 other words at 15 months. These are ages by which about 3 in 4 children have started, rounded up to a check-up age.
- Limits
- Experts' judgement set the ages, and some milestones rest on opinion rather than measured ages. The lists haven't been tested to see whether they help.
A main source for the ages
Variability and Consistency in Early Language Learning: The Wordbank Project
Michael C. Frank, Mika Braginsky, Daniel Yurovsky, Virginia A. Marchman · 2021 · MIT Press
- Children
- About 82,000 word lists filled in by parents
- Where
- 29 languages, mostly from Europe and the United States
- Ages
- 8 to 30 months
- How
- Researchers pooled parents' word lists from many studies (the Wordbank collection)
- What it found
- Gives "around one year" as a rule of thumb for first words, and shows that children of the same age vary a lot in how many words they say.
- Limits
- Parents can miss words or count babble as words. Most children were from Europe and the United States and learning one language.
A main source for the ages
Similarities and differences in child development from birth to age 3 years by sex and across four countries: a cross-sectional, observational study
Ilgi Ozturk Ertem, Vibha Krishnamurthy, Mphelekedzeni C. Mulaudzi, Yanina Sguassero, Hakan Balta, Ozlem Gulumser · 2018 · Lancet Global Health
- Children
- About 4,900 healthy children
- Where
- Argentina, India, South Africa and Turkey
- Ages
- Birth to 3½ years
- How
- Trained staff asked parents open questions about what their child could do, at health clinics
- What it found
- Found the age by which half of children reached more than 100 milestones. Most came at similar ages in all four countries, and for boys and girls. For example, half of children waved bye-bye by about 11 months and said a first word by about 9 months.
- Limits
- Only four countries and no rural areas, children from city clinics, and only healthy children (about half of those who came were left out for health reasons). It gives the age for half of children, not the full spread.
If you’re worried about your child, talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.
Last checked 2 November 2026