Responding to their name
Babies recognise the sound of their own name surprisingly early: lab studies have found this at about 4 to 5 months. By 8 months, more than 9 in 10 US parents say their baby responds when called, and nearly all by 9 months.
How sure are we?
Not sure yet. A large set of parents' reports agrees with small lab studies, but they measure slightly different things, and the parents' reports start at 8 months. How we know this
What it’s a sign of
Your baby is starting to pick out a familiar word, their own name, from all the talk around them.
Lab studies test whether babies prefer to listen to their own name; parents report whether their baby turns or looks when called. The CDC lists looking when you call their name at 9 months, using the age by which about 3 in 4 babies do it, rounded up to the next check-up.
The word lists parents fill in start at 8 months, when most babies already respond, so we don't know exactly when most babies start responding to their name in everyday life.
A main source for the ages
Share of children pointing, waving and responding to their name, by age: our count from Wordbank v3.4
MyHappyBub (analysis of Wordbank open data) · 2026
- Children
- About 14,000 parents' answers 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' answers on the word lists in the open Wordbank collection
- What it found
- Parents said their baby pointed by these ages: half by 11 months, 3 in 4 by 12, and nearly all (95 in 100) by 16. Waving: half by 9 months, nearly all by 16. Responding to their name: more than 9 in 10 already at 8 months.
- Limits
- Based on parents' reports, which may count earlier or looser kinds of pointing than researchers do. Each month is a different group of children. The word lists start at 8 months.
A classic study on this
Infants' Recognition of the Sound Patterns of Their Own Names
Denise R. Mandel, Peter W. Jusczyk, David B. Pisoni · 1995 · Psychological Science
- Children
- Babies aged 4½ months (number not checked yet)
- Where
- Not checked yet (summary only)
- Ages
- 4½ months
- How
- In a lab, researchers played babies their own name and other names and measured which they listened to longer
- What it found
- Babies as young as 4½ months preferred listening to their own name over other names, even names with the same rhythm.
- Limits
- A lab study. Recognising your name in a lab isn't the same as turning when called at home. We read the summary, not yet the full paper.
A classic study on this
Call me Alix, not Elix: vowels are more important than consonants in own‐name recognition at 5 months
Camillia Bouchon, Caroline Floccia, Thibaut Fux, Martine Adda‐Decker, Thierry Nazzi A · 2015 · Developmental Science
- Children
- 5-month-old babies learning French (number not checked yet)
- Where
- Babies learning French
- Ages
- 5 months
- How
- In a lab, researchers played babies their name with one sound changed and watched how they reacted
- What it found
- At 5 months, babies noticed when a vowel in their name was changed, but not when a consonant was, showing they already knew their name's sound.
- Limits
- A lab study. We read the summary, not yet the full paper.
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.
If you’re worried about your child, talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.
Last checked 2 November 2026