Pam vs Pamela

Side-by-side comparison of Pam and Pamela — popularity rank, total births, peak decade, and historical trends from Social Security Administration data.

Name A

Pam

Girl name

Full profile →
Name B

Pamela

Girl name · Rank #2144

Full profile →

Which name is more popular?

Metric Pam Pamela
Current Rank Unranked #2144
Total Births (all years) 33,125 594,992
Peak Year 1959 1954
Peak Year Births 3,677 27,362
Peak Decade 1960ss 1950ss
Gender Girl Girl
First Recorded Year 1915 1895

Births by Decade

Decade Pam Pamela
1890ss — 11
1900ss — 11
1910ss 5 150
1920ss 7 627
1930ss 116 1,873
1940ss 3,357 73,121
1950ss 11,235 237,395
1960ss 17,109 181,938
1970ss 1,126 58,038
1980ss 144 25,744
1990ss 26 8,393
2000ss — 5,255
2010ss — 1,916
2020ss — 520

Recent Annual Births (2014–present)

Year Pam Pamela
2014 — 185
2015 — 167
2016 — 183
2017 — 155
2018 — 136
2019 — 146
2020 — 123
2021 — 112
2022 — 95
2023 — 102
2024 — 88

Data Sources

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, ssa.gov/oact/babynames.
Source: SSA Annual Name Rankings, 1915–1996.

← Compare different names