Girls' name · since 1888

Erin

Since 1888, U.S. Social Security records show 316,575 babies named Erin, peaking in 1983. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#124 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#833 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
316,575
born since 1888
1980s
peak decade

Erin currently ranks #833 among girls' names in America, with 316,575 babies recorded since 1888.

Erin has 316,575 recorded births among girls since 1888, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #833 as of the latest data, more common than 95% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1888 to 2025.

  • #124 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #833 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 316,575 born since 1888
  • 1980s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Erin ranks #124 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #833 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 316,575 born since 1888, peaking in the 1980s.

#124 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#833 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
316,575
born since 1888
1980s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%95.1%
Erin vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Erin's 316,575 recorded births place it above 99.82% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Erin compares

316,575 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

Erin's all-time total is 842x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Erin Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 316,575 376 567,345
Peak-year births 14,836 21 19,840

Erin's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Erin splits its recorded history at 1959: 99% of all births land in the more recent half, 1% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1888 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1983 peak of 14,836 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Erin popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1888–2025

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1983)
14,836
Annual births at peak, across 138 years of records
05,00010,00015,00020,000 188819101927194419611978199520122025 327

Erin popularity over time - boys

9,478 total births recorded since 1915 (Erin as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 9,478 births
0100200300400 191519471959197119831995200720192025 22

Erin by decade

1980s is the heaviest window (115,811 births, 37% of the file).

1980s was Erin's strongest decade.

115,811 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 37% of all-time use.

Erin births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1980s at 115,811 births (37% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Erin 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 Erin's total volume

Erin vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8% 6080100120140160 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -76, 4.5%-118, 2.6%-146, 2.8%-93, 4.8%-146, 1.8%-145, 1.8%-146, 3.1%-75, 6.4%-146, 2.5%-146, 2.6%-92, 6.4%-142, 5.8%-146, 1.9%-146, 3.2%-116, 7.2%Erin-138, 4.7%Erin
Erin vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Erin by state

Where Erin concentrates geographically, total births since 1888

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Erin
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
31,564 10.0%
#2 New York
21,603 6.8%
#3 Pennsylvania
18,658 5.9%
#4 Ohio
17,547 5.5%
#5 Texas
16,681 5.3%
#6 Illinois
16,420 5.2%
#7 Michigan
13,444 4.2%
#8 Massachusetts
11,886 3.8%
California share of Erin's total US births 10.0%
Even split

31,564 of 316,575 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Erin appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Erin?
Erin has been given to 316,575 babies in the U.S. since 1888, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #124 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #833 of 17,297. 14,836 babies were born in 1983, its single highest year.
Where does Erin sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Erin ranks #124 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #833 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Erin most popular?
Erin was most popular in the 1980s decade with 115,811 total births. The single peak year was 1983.
Where is Erin most popular?
The top states for the name Erin are California (31,564 births), New York (21,603 births), Pennsylvania (18,658 births).
How long has the name Erin been used?
Erin has been recorded in Social Security data since 1888, spanning 138 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Erin?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Erica, Erika, Ericka, Eric, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Erin's data

  • Erin's decade-level peak was the 1980s (115,811 total births); usage has since declined to 2,665 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Erins (31,564 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Erin

Nearby Names Like Erin

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Erin

Names with a similar popularity rank to Erin

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Erin: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1888–2025 (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 Erin 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.