Cynthia
Cynthia was given to 247 girls in 2025, #1,014 among girls’ names; 713,412 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 589,000 Americans named Cynthia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 55 and 70.
Cynthia dropped 185 places in 2025, the #17 drop among the girls’ top 1,000 of 2024.
Cynthia is the #26 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cynthia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cynthia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cynthia is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “Cynthian (of or pertaining to Mount Cynthus, a mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis)” (Κύνθιος).
Borrowed from Latin Cynthia, from Ancient Greek Κυνθία (Kunthía), feminine of Κύνθιος (Kúnthios, “Cynthian (of or pertaining to Mount Cynthus, a mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis)”).
/ˈsɪn.θi.ə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cynthia?
#1,014 among girls’ names, 2025
Cynthia fell from #540 in 2015 to #1,014 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.32 to 0.15 per 1,000.
39,416 babies in 1957, the peak
Cynthia peaked in 1957, when 39,416 babies were given it (39,340 girls, #7 among girls’ names). The 247 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 247 | #1,014 | 0.15 |
| 2024 | 331 | #829 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 308 | #872 | 0.19 |
| 2022 | 315 | #885 | 0.19 |
| 2021 | 346 | #806 | 0.21 |
| 2020 | 308 | #873 | 0.19 |
| 2019 | 378 | #748 | 0.23 |
| 2018 | 419 | #692 | 0.25 |
| 2017 | 462 | #636 | 0.27 |
| 2016 | 552 | #563 | 0.31 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 580 | #540 | 0.32 |
| 2014 | 636 | #492 | 0.36 |
| 2013 | 601 | #500 | 0.34 |
| 2012 | 750 | #419 | 0.43 |
| 2011 | 733 | #428 | 0.42 |
| 2010 | 835 | #381 | 0.47 |
| 2009 | 893 | #361 | 0.49 |
| 2008 | 1,076 | #310 | 0.57 |
| 2007 | 1,234 | #278 | 0.64 |
| 2006 | 1,420 | #239 | 0.75 |
| 2005 | 1,574 | #221 | 0.85 |
| 2004 | 1,521 | #222 | 0.83 |
| 2003 | 1,662 | #199 | 0.91 |
| 2002 | 1,833 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 2001 | 1,921 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 2000 | 2,038 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 1999 | 2,225 | #145 | 1.3 |
| 1998 | 2,631 | #127 | 1.5 |
| 1997 | 2,714 | #117 | 1.6 |
| 1996 | 3,190 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1995 | 2,957 | #113 | 1.7 |
| 1994 | 3,161 | #105 | 1.8 |
| 1993 | 3,383 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1992 | 3,548 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1991 | 3,707 | #93 | 2.0 |
| 1990 | 3,797 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1989 | 3,778 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1988 | 3,784 | #79 | 2.1 |
| 1987 | 3,392 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1986 | 3,422 | #81 | 2.0 |
| 1985 | 4,129 | #66 | 2.4 |
| 1984 | 4,622 | #62 | 2.7 |
| 1983 | 4,553 | #62 | 2.7 |
| 1982 | 4,427 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 1981 | 4,859 | #59 | 2.9 |
| 1980 | 4,700 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1979 | 4,931 | #55 | 3.1 |
| 1978 | 5,403 | #50 | 3.5 |
| 1977 | 5,782 | #48 | 3.8 |
| 1976 | 6,012 | #44 | 4.1 |
| 1975 | 6,539 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1974 | 7,557 | #33 | 5.1 |
| 1973 | 8,743 | #26 | 6.0 |
| 1972 | 10,173 | #25 | 6.7 |
| 1971 | 12,143 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1970 | 12,913 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1969 | 13,516 | #23 | 8.0 |
| 1968 | 14,050 | #19 | 8.6 |
| 1967 | 15,340 | #18 | 9.3 |
| 1966 | 17,418 | #11 | 10.3 |
| 1965 | 19,239 | #9 | 10.9 |
| 1964 | 20,321 | #9 | 10.7 |
| 1963 | 21,589 | #10 | 11.2 |
| 1962 | 24,025 | #8 | 12.2 |
| 1961 | 24,393 | #8 | 12.1 |
| 1960 | 26,706 | #9 | 13.2 |
| 1959 | 30,186 | #8 | 14.9 |
| 1958 | 31,014 | #8 | 15.4 |
| 1957 | 39,340 | #7 | 19.2 |
| 1956 | 32,339 | #8 | 16.1 |
| 1955 | 27,178 | #11 | 13.9 |
| 1954 | 27,615 | #10 | 14.2 |
| 1953 | 25,140 | #12 | 13.4 |
| 1952 | 19,878 | #18 | 10.7 |
| 1951 | 16,295 | #20 | 9.0 |
| 1950 | 14,447 | #23 | 8.4 |
| 1949 | 12,901 | #27 | 7.5 |
| 1948 | 12,240 | #27 | 7.2 |
| 1947 | 10,530 | #33 | 5.9 |
| 1946 | 6,895 | #46 | 4.4 |
| 1945 | 3,127 | #90 | 2.4 |
| 1944 | 2,570 | #105 | 1.9 |
| 1943 | 2,894 | #101 | 2.1 |
| 1942 | 2,726 | #101 | 2.0 |
| 1941 | 2,296 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1940 | 1,882 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1939 | 1,489 | #152 | 1.4 |
| 1938 | 1,365 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1937 | 1,181 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1936 | 983 | #184 | 0.94 |
| 1935 | 990 | #179 | 0.94 |
| 1934 | 1,021 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 1933 | 772 | #218 | 0.77 |
| 1932 | 637 | #244 | 0.60 |
| 1931 | 632 | #238 | 0.59 |
| 1930 | 596 | #256 | 0.53 |
| 1929 | 487 | #297 | 0.44 |
| 1928 | 472 | #305 | 0.41 |
| 1927 | 432 | #324 | 0.36 |
| 1926 | 392 | #334 | 0.33 |
| 1925 | 340 | #371 | 0.28 |
| 1924 | 366 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1923 | 310 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1922 | 282 | #389 | 0.23 |
| 1921 | 295 | #389 | 0.24 |
| 1920 | 285 | #388 | 0.24 |
| 1919 | 264 | #396 | 0.23 |
| 1918 | 271 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1917 | 240 | #407 | 0.22 |
| 1916 | 224 | #418 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 216 | #405 | 0.22 |
| 1914 | 183 | #391 | 0.24 |
| 1913 | 165 | #374 | 0.26 |
| 1912 | 157 | #367 | 0.28 |
| 1911 | 105 | #392 | 0.25 |
| 1910 | 86 | #428 | 0.22 |
| 1909 | 76 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1908 | 56 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 80 | #395 | 0.25 |
| 1906 | 77 | #392 | 0.26 |
| 1905 | 63 | #427 | 0.22 |
| 1904 | 60 | #419 | 0.22 |
| 1903 | 65 | #394 | 0.25 |
| 1902 | 63 | #391 | 0.24 |
| 1901 | 67 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1900 | 87 | #360 | 0.29 |
| 1899 | 71 | #352 | 0.30 |
| 1898 | 72 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1897 | 80 | #328 | 0.34 |
| 1896 | 63 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1895 | 58 | #371 | 0.25 |
| 1894 | 58 | #368 | 0.26 |
| 1893 | 73 | #315 | 0.34 |
| 1892 | 80 | #305 | 0.38 |
| 1891 | 67 | #306 | 0.36 |
| 1890 | 79 | #282 | 0.41 |
| 1889 | 76 | #273 | 0.43 |
| 1888 | 58 | #314 | 0.32 |
| 1887 | 55 | #287 | 0.38 |
| 1886 | 56 | #277 | 0.39 |
| 1885 | 59 | #259 | 0.44 |
| 1884 | 59 | #253 | 0.46 |
| 1883 | 66 | #219 | 0.59 |
| 1882 | 45 | #259 | 0.42 |
| 1881 | 47 | #227 | 0.51 |
| 1880 | 61 | #197 | 0.67 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Cynthia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cynthia has been given almost only to girls: 1,959 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cynthia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cynthia, and how old are they?
589,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 713,412 Americans ever recorded as Cynthia. The median Cynthia alive today is 64 years old; half are between 55 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 597,780 people named Cynthia (597,326 women and girls, 454 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 622,336 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 10,400 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 337,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 152,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 59,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 24,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,450 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cynthia born?
The states with the most babies named Cynthia are California, Texas and New York, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 82,991 | #954 | 1.3× |
| Texas | 60,899 | #1,099 | 1.3× |
| New York | 47,618 | #916 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 39,911 | #863 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 35,770 | #830 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 35,743 | #719 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 29,105 | #986 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 22,361 | #1,579 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 21,091 | #1,082 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 19,152 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Cynthia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cynthia is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cynthia with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 725,661 babies since 1880, Cynthia is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 247 of their 286 babies (86%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cynthia
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cynthia and names like it
- Compare Cynthia and CinthiaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCynthia peaked in 1957.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cynthia since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Cynthia: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1957The year the most babies were named Cynthia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cynthia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.