Girls' name · since 1880
Deborah
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 742,820 babies named Deborah, peaking in 1954. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #32 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #862 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 742,820
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
742,820 babies have been named Deborah since 1880, making it today's #862 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Deborah has been recorded 742,820 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #862 nationally and more common than 95% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #32 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #862 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 742,820 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Deborah ranks #32 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #862 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 742,820 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #32 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #862 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 742,820
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Deborah's 742,820 recorded births place it above 99.95% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Deborah compares
742,820 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Deborah's all-time total is 1,976x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Deborah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 742,820 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 54,674 | 21 | 19,840 |
Deborah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Deborah splits its recorded history at 1953: 77% of all births land in the more recent half, 23% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1885 (10 births) -- compare that against the 1954 peak of 54,674 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Deborah popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1954)
- 54,674
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Deborah popularity over time - boys
1,658 total births recorded since 1939 (Deborah as boys' name)
Deborah by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (430,537 births, 58% of the file).
1950s was Deborah's strongest decade.
430,537 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 58% of all-time use.
Deborah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 143
1880s
143 births
- 1890s 183
1890s
183 births
- 1900s 226
1900s
226 births
- 1910s 651
1910s
651 births
- 1920s 1,070
1920s
1,070 births
- 1930s 2,808
1930s
2,808 births
- 1940s 44,054
1940s
44,054 births
- 1950s
1950s
430,537 births
- 1960s
1960s
183,439 births
- 1970s 47,855
1970s
47,855 births
- 1980s 14,783
1980s
14,783 births
- 1990s 7,574
1990s
7,574 births
- 2000s 4,284
2000s
4,284 births
- 2010s 3,429
2010s
3,429 births
- 2020s 1,784
2020s
1,784 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 430,537 births (58% of all-time use).
How Deborah 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 Deborah's total volume
Deborah by state
Where Deborah concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 68,257 | 9.2% |
| #2 | California | | 56,646 | 7.6% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 50,340 | 6.8% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 47,431 | 6.4% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 38,687 | 5.2% |
| #6 | Texas | | 37,601 | 5.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 34,412 | 4.6% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 26,508 | 3.6% |
68,257 of 742,820 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Deborah appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Deborah? ▼
Where does Deborah sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Deborah most popular? ▼
Where is Deborah most popular? ▼
How long has the name Deborah been used? ▼
What names are similar to Deborah? ▼
What to do with Deborah's data
- Deborah's decade-level peak was the 1950s (430,537 total births); usage has since declined to 1,784 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Deborahs (68,257 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Deborah
Nearby Names Like Deborah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Deborah
Compare Deborah side by side: Deborah vs Debra Deborah vs Debbie Deborah vs Debora
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Deborah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Deborah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1954)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Deborah 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.