US rank #851 Girls' name Peak 1954 742,504 births

Deborah — #851 US girls' name

742,504 babies named Deborah in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1954. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1431890s1831900s2261910s6511920s10701930s28081940s440551950s4305411960s1834321970s478561980s147831990s75752000s42842010s34282020s1469
#851
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 95% of names given to girls today.

1950s
Peak decade

58% of everyone ever named Deborah was born in this single decade.

1954
Single peak year

54,675 babies were named Deborah in 1954 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Deborah

The Social Security Administration has registered 742,504 babies named Deborah between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Deborah currently holds the #851 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1954, when 54,675 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Deborah performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 430,541 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Deborah shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 68,237 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Deborah in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Deborah in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 742,504 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Deborah at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

742,504

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1954

54,675 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#851

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Deborah popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1954)
54,675
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-20,000020,00040,00060,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 12

Deborah popularity over time — boys

1,658 total births recorded since 1939 (Deborah as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,658 births
050100150 199019831977197119651959195319471939 6

Deborah by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
430,541 births that decade — 58% of Deborah's all-time total
1880s1431890s1831900s2261910s6511920s10701930s28081940s440551950s4305411960s1834321970s478561980s147831990s75752000s42842010s34282020s1469

Deborah by state

Where Deborah concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Deborah
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
68,237 9.2%
#2 California
56,617 7.6%
#3 Pennsylvania
50,332 6.8%
#4 Ohio
47,419 6.4%
#5 Illinois
38,679 5.2%
#6 Texas
37,568 5.1%
#7 Michigan
34,407 4.6%
#8 Massachusetts
26,498 3.6%
New York share of Deborah's total US births 9.2%
Even split

68,237 of 742,504 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?
742,504 babies have been named Deborah since 1880. It currently ranks #851 among girls. The peak year was 1954 with 54,675 births.
When was Deborah most popular?
Deborah was most popular in the 1950s decade with 430,541 total births. The single peak year was 1954.
Where is Deborah most popular?
The top states for the name Deborah are New York (68,237 births), California (56,617 births), Pennsylvania (50,332 births).
How long has the name Deborah been used?
Deborah has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Deborah?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Debra, Debbie, Debora, Debby, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Deborah

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.