Debbie
Debbie was given to 24 girls in 2025, #5,283 among girls’ names; 188,287 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 158,000 Americans named Debbie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (84% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 62 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Debbie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Debbie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Debbie is “a diminutive of the female given name Deborah.”
/ˈdɛbi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Debbie?
#5,283 among girls’ names, 2025
Debbie fell from #4,886 in 2015 to #5,283 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 15.7 to 14.9 per million.
19,588 babies in 1959, the peak
Debbie peaked in 1959, when 19,588 babies were given it (19,540 girls, #20 among girls’ names). The 24 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 24 | #5,283 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 30 | #4,584 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 29 | #4,669 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 22 | #5,680 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 30 | #4,531 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 19 | #6,134 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 23 | #5,478 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 21 | #5,829 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 24 | #5,407 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 26 | #5,177 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28 | #4,886 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 39 | #3,859 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 27 | #5,048 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 34 | #4,316 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 30 | #4,712 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 45 | #3,529 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 43 | #3,691 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 44 | #3,659 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 61 | #2,935 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 62 | #2,821 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 42 | #3,523 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 69 | #2,450 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 67 | #2,442 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 75 | #2,203 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 74 | #2,196 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 75 | #2,144 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 89 | #1,786 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 95 | #1,677 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 125 | #1,368 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 131 | #1,309 | 0.07 |
| 1995 | 142 | #1,207 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 175 | #1,043 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 178 | #1,034 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 184 | #1,019 | 0.10 |
| 1991 | 228 | #870 | 0.12 |
| 1990 | 280 | #742 | 0.15 |
| 1989 | 275 | #719 | 0.15 |
| 1988 | 262 | #715 | 0.15 |
| 1987 | 270 | #684 | 0.16 |
| 1986 | 271 | #680 | 0.16 |
| 1985 | 311 | #609 | 0.18 |
| 1984 | 363 | #531 | 0.22 |
| 1983 | 344 | #544 | 0.21 |
| 1982 | 413 | #492 | 0.24 |
| 1981 | 439 | #481 | 0.26 |
| 1980 | 489 | #439 | 0.29 |
| 1979 | 552 | #396 | 0.34 |
| 1978 | 603 | #354 | 0.39 |
| 1977 | 594 | #365 | 0.39 |
| 1976 | 700 | #319 | 0.48 |
| 1975 | 808 | #294 | 0.55 |
| 1974 | 1,055 | #244 | 0.72 |
| 1973 | 1,232 | #208 | 0.84 |
| 1972 | 1,586 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | 2,064 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1970 | 2,322 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 1969 | 2,652 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1968 | 3,019 | #111 | 1.8 |
| 1967 | 3,742 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1966 | 4,846 | #73 | 2.9 |
| 1965 | 6,088 | #62 | 3.4 |
| 1964 | 8,381 | #52 | 4.4 |
| 1963 | 10,444 | #41 | 5.4 |
| 1962 | 13,092 | #32 | 6.7 |
| 1961 | 14,882 | #31 | 7.4 |
| 1960 | 17,067 | #24 | 8.4 |
| 1959 | 19,540 | #20 | 9.7 |
| 1958 | 17,860 | #24 | 8.9 |
| 1957 | 14,382 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1956 | 9,863 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 1955 | 7,254 | #63 | 3.7 |
| 1954 | 4,664 | #92 | 2.4 |
| 1953 | 3,208 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 1952 | 2,454 | #144 | 1.3 |
| 1951 | 1,709 | #175 | 0.95 |
| 1950 | 1,163 | #221 | 0.68 |
| 1949 | 941 | #244 | 0.55 |
| 1948 | 836 | #267 | 0.49 |
| 1947 | 598 | #318 | 0.34 |
| 1946 | 277 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1945 | 141 | #612 | 0.11 |
| 1944 | 132 | #639 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 82 | #862 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 88 | #816 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 76 | #831 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 61 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 57 | #930 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 51 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 45 | #1,066 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 26 | #1,450 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 27 | #1,423 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 24 | #1,525 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 20 | #1,731 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,831 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 14 | #2,219 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 12 | #2,578 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 12 | #2,613 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 15 | #2,305 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 14 | #2,456 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,734 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,425 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 8 | #3,731 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,426 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,646 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 5 | #5,294 | under 0.01 |
| 1920 | 12 | #2,761 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 12 | #2,680 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 13 | #2,556 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 6 | #4,209 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 17 | #1,967 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,285 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 8 | #2,696 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,743 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 7 | #2,015 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,717 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 9 | #1,413 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,593 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 11 | #1,181 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 9 | #1,229 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,479 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 9 | #1,157 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,998 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 8 | #1,196 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 6 | #1,546 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 12 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 9 | #1,142 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 11 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,482 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 8 | #1,106 | 0.04 |
| 1891 | 7 | #1,119 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 9 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 6 | #1,169 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 7 | #1,060 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 10 | #739 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 9 | #747 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 6 | #767 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Debbie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Debbie has been given almost only to girls: 434 boys in 136 years of records.
Girls and boys named Debbie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Debbie, and how old are they?
158,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 84% of the 188,287 Americans ever recorded as Debbie. The median Debbie alive today is 66 years old; half are between 62 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 144,402 people named Debbie (144,208 women and girls, 194 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 167,061 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 380 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 123,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 29,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,140 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,020 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 340 |
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 Debbie born?
The states with the most babies named Debbie are California, Texas and New York, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 19,726 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 12,841 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 10,679 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 10,408 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 9,719 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 7,964 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 7,952 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 5,618 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 5,559 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Florida | 5,187 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Debbie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Debbie is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 1.4 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 Debbie 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 205,588 babies since 1880, Debbie is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 24 of their 24 babies (100%), 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 Debbie
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 Debbie and names like it
- Compare Debbie and DebbyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDebbie peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Debbie since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Debbie.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Debbie alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.