Deborah
Deborah was given to 313 girls in 2025, #864 among girls’ names; 744,478 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 602,000 Americans named Deborah and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 69 years old and half are between 62 and 73.
Deborah is the #25 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 Deborah by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Deborah mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Deborah is “a female given name from Hebrew, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s, first in the USA, then in the UK.”
From Hebrew דְּבוֹרָה (dvorá), meaning bee.
/ˈdɛb(ə)ɹə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Deborah?
#864 among girls’ names, 2025
Deborah fell from #804 in 2015 to #864 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.20 to 0.19 per 1,000.
54,754 babies in 1954, the peak
Deborah peaked in 1954, when 54,754 babies were given it (54,674 girls, #3 among girls’ names). The 313 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 313 | #864 | 0.19 |
| 2024 | 317 | #854 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 267 | #968 | 0.17 |
| 2022 | 301 | #911 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 295 | #910 | 0.18 |
| 2020 | 291 | #904 | 0.18 |
| 2019 | 296 | #900 | 0.18 |
| 2018 | 350 | #781 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 357 | #773 | 0.21 |
| 2016 | 349 | #823 | 0.20 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 350 | #804 | 0.20 |
| 2014 | 373 | #752 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 330 | #815 | 0.19 |
| 2012 | 337 | #793 | 0.19 |
| 2011 | 332 | #811 | 0.19 |
| 2010 | 355 | #774 | 0.20 |
| 2009 | 346 | #817 | 0.19 |
| 2008 | 356 | #808 | 0.19 |
| 2007 | 372 | #777 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 425 | #672 | 0.22 |
| 2005 | 425 | #653 | 0.23 |
| 2004 | 427 | #640 | 0.23 |
| 2003 | 423 | #632 | 0.23 |
| 2002 | 474 | #559 | 0.26 |
| 2001 | 490 | #543 | 0.27 |
| 2000 | 546 | #494 | 0.30 |
| 1999 | 524 | #496 | 0.30 |
| 1998 | 554 | #465 | 0.31 |
| 1997 | 638 | #411 | 0.37 |
| 1996 | 635 | #410 | 0.36 |
| 1995 | 659 | #398 | 0.37 |
| 1994 | 738 | #355 | 0.41 |
| 1993 | 798 | #328 | 0.44 |
| 1992 | 919 | #303 | 0.50 |
| 1991 | 1,014 | #272 | 0.54 |
| 1990 | 1,095 | #262 | 0.58 |
| 1989 | 1,076 | #251 | 0.58 |
| 1988 | 1,056 | #250 | 0.59 |
| 1987 | 1,203 | #222 | 0.69 |
| 1986 | 1,287 | #202 | 0.75 |
| 1985 | 1,400 | #192 | 0.81 |
| 1984 | 1,468 | #187 | 0.87 |
| 1983 | 1,609 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1982 | 1,840 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1981 | 1,907 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1980 | 1,937 | #146 | 1.2 |
| 1979 | 2,180 | #132 | 1.4 |
| 1978 | 2,479 | #118 | 1.6 |
| 1977 | 2,676 | #109 | 1.7 |
| 1976 | 2,992 | #96 | 2.0 |
| 1975 | 3,414 | #86 | 2.3 |
| 1974 | 4,343 | #68 | 3.0 |
| 1973 | 4,980 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1972 | 6,271 | #43 | 4.1 |
| 1971 | 8,675 | #33 | 5.2 |
| 1970 | 9,845 | #33 | 5.6 |
| 1969 | 11,187 | #27 | 6.6 |
| 1968 | 12,288 | #27 | 7.5 |
| 1967 | 14,012 | #22 | 8.5 |
| 1966 | 16,250 | #14 | 9.6 |
| 1965 | 17,081 | #13 | 9.7 |
| 1964 | 19,306 | #12 | 10.2 |
| 1963 | 21,053 | #13 | 10.9 |
| 1962 | 22,889 | #9 | 11.6 |
| 1961 | 24,107 | #10 | 11.9 |
| 1960 | 25,266 | #10 | 12.5 |
| 1959 | 29,546 | #9 | 14.6 |
| 1958 | 32,943 | #7 | 16.4 |
| 1957 | 40,096 | #6 | 19.6 |
| 1956 | 47,834 | #4 | 23.8 |
| 1955 | 52,318 | #2 | 26.8 |
| 1954 | 54,674 | #3 | 28.2 |
| 1953 | 52,199 | #3 | 27.7 |
| 1952 | 49,811 | #4 | 26.9 |
| 1951 | 42,053 | #4 | 23.4 |
| 1950 | 29,063 | #7 | 17.0 |
| 1949 | 19,209 | #15 | 11.2 |
| 1948 | 11,244 | #30 | 6.6 |
| 1947 | 5,837 | #62 | 3.3 |
| 1946 | 2,471 | #119 | 1.6 |
| 1945 | 1,462 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1944 | 1,293 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1943 | 785 | #242 | 0.56 |
| 1942 | 676 | #265 | 0.50 |
| 1941 | 607 | #259 | 0.50 |
| 1940 | 470 | #291 | 0.41 |
| 1939 | 443 | #293 | 0.40 |
| 1938 | 410 | #308 | 0.37 |
| 1937 | 322 | #358 | 0.30 |
| 1936 | 300 | #366 | 0.29 |
| 1935 | 281 | #378 | 0.27 |
| 1934 | 280 | #383 | 0.27 |
| 1933 | 242 | #410 | 0.24 |
| 1932 | 207 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1931 | 158 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 165 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1929 | 161 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1928 | 130 | #618 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 91 | #759 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 116 | #674 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 82 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 125 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1923 | 118 | #684 | 0.10 |
| 1922 | 71 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 94 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 82 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 70 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 92 | #744 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 89 | #747 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 90 | #718 | 0.09 |
| 1915 | 105 | #644 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 62 | #727 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 42 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 32 | #892 | 0.06 |
| 1911 | 36 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 33 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 26 | #798 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 25 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 21 | #823 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 24 | #744 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 18 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 23 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1903 | 21 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 21 | #760 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 21 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 26 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 11 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 21 | #724 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 23 | #647 | 0.10 |
| 1896 | 18 | #763 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 13 | #900 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 18 | #700 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 24 | #577 | 0.11 |
| 1892 | 16 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 15 | #699 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 24 | #540 | 0.13 |
| 1889 | 12 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 26 | #489 | 0.15 |
| 1887 | 15 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 10 | #740 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 10 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 13 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 16 | #484 | 0.14 |
| 1882 | 15 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1881 | 14 | #452 | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 12 | #499 | 0.13 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Deborah a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Deborah has been given almost only to girls: 1,658 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Deborah: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Deborah, and how old are they?
602,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 744,478 Americans ever recorded as Deborah. The median Deborah alive today is 69 years old; half are between 62 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 622,217 people named Deborah (621,837 women and girls, 380 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 643,118 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 459,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 110,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 18,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,940 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,160 |
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 Deborah born?
The states with the most babies named Deborah are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 68,362 | #801 | 1.1× |
| California | 56,711 | #956 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 50,372 | #1,039 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 47,467 | #755 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 38,722 | #1,046 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 37,628 | #882 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 34,436 | #1,263 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 26,518 | #577 | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 23,583 | #479 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 21,942 | #997 | 1.0× |
Where Deborah is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Deborah is most over-represented in Maryland: 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 Deborah 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 1,338,298 babies since 1880, Deborah is the most given (56% of them). In 2025 it was given to 313 of their 422 babies (74%), 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 Deborah
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 Deborah and names like it
- Compare Deborah and DebraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDeborah peaked in 1954.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Deborah since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Deborah: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1954The year the most babies were named Deborah.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Deborah alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.