Girls' name · since 1881
Belva
Belva has 7,960 recorded births since 1881 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1927 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,918 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #14,968 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 7,960
- born since 1881
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Belva is the #14968 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 7,960 recorded since 1881.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Belva has been recorded 7,960 times among girls since 1881, currently ranked #14968 nationally and more common than 13% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.
- #1,918 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #14,968 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 7,960 born since 1881
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Belva ranks #1,918 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #14,968 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 7,960 born since 1881, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,918 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #14,968 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 7,960
- born since 1881
- 1920s
- peak decade
Belva's 7,960 recorded births place it above 97.34% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
32 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Belva compares
7,960 Top 11% higher than 89% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Belva's all-time total is 21x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Belva | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 7,960 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 184 | 21 | 19,840 |
Belva's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Belva splits its recorded history at 1935: 40% of all births land in the more recent half, 60% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1882 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1927 peak of 184 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Belva popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025
- Peak year (1927)
- 184
- Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
Belva by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (1,650 births, 21% of the file).
1920s was Belva's strongest decade.
1,650 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Belva births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 259
1880s
259 births
- 1890s 319
1890s
319 births
- 1900s 505
1900s
505 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,265 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,650 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,576 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,145 births
- 1950s
1950s
766 births
- 1960s 307
1960s
307 births
- 1970s 113
1970s
113 births
- 1980s 35
1980s
35 births
- 1990s 5
1990s
5 births
- 2000s 10
2000s
10 births
- 2020s 5
2020s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 1,650 births (21% of all-time use).
How Belva compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Belva's total volume
Belva by state
Where Belva concentrates geographically, total births since 1881
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 404 | 5.1% |
| #2 | West Virginia | | 397 | 5.0% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 327 | 4.1% |
| #4 | Kentucky | | 261 | 3.3% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 231 | 2.9% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 217 | 2.7% |
| #7 | Oklahoma | | 215 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Iowa | | 168 | 2.1% |
404 of 7,960 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 32 reporting states.
Belva appears in 32 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Belva? ▼
Where does Belva sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Belva most popular? ▼
Where is Belva most popular? ▼
How long has the name Belva been used? ▼
What names are similar to Belva? ▼
What to do with Belva's data
- Belva's decade-level peak was the 1920s (1,650 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Belvas (404 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Belva
Nearby Names Like Belva
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Belva
Compare Belva side by side: Belva vs Bella Belva vs Belinda Belva vs Belle
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Belva
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Belva: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1927)
Similar record span (~144 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1881–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Belva draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.