Esperanza
Esperanza was given to 188 girls in 2025, #1,209 among girls’ names; 20,884 Americans have been recorded with it since 1903 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 16,200 Americans named Esperanza and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (78% of everyone recorded); the median is 27 years old and half are between 16 and 52.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Esperanza by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Esperanza mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Esperanza is “a female given name” Its etymology gives the sense “hope” (esperanza).
From the noun esperanza (“hope”).
/espeˈɾanθa/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Esperanza?
#1,209 among girls’ names, 2025
Esperanza fell from #922 in 2015 to #1,209 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.17 to 0.12 per 1,000.
499 babies in 2000, the peak
Esperanza peaked in 2000, when 499 girls were given it, #528 among girls’ names. The 188 births of 2025 are 38% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 188 | #1,209 | 0.12 |
| 2024 | 252 | #1,013 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 258 | #992 | 0.16 |
| 2022 | 262 | #998 | 0.16 |
| 2021 | 224 | #1,105 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 270 | #949 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 272 | #966 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 265 | #991 | 0.16 |
| 2017 | 277 | #955 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 264 | #999 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (122)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 298 | #922 | 0.17 |
| 2014 | 258 | #1,013 | 0.14 |
| 2013 | 249 | #1,004 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 240 | #1,050 | 0.14 |
| 2011 | 296 | #884 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 271 | #949 | 0.15 |
| 2009 | 278 | #962 | 0.15 |
| 2008 | 277 | #968 | 0.15 |
| 2007 | 351 | #819 | 0.18 |
| 2006 | 422 | #676 | 0.22 |
| 2005 | 363 | #742 | 0.20 |
| 2004 | 350 | #749 | 0.19 |
| 2003 | 396 | #668 | 0.22 |
| 2002 | 423 | #606 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 455 | #568 | 0.25 |
| 2000 | 499 | #528 | 0.27 |
| 1999 | 402 | #605 | 0.23 |
| 1998 | 316 | #700 | 0.18 |
| 1997 | 316 | #684 | 0.18 |
| 1996 | 289 | #725 | 0.16 |
| 1995 | 213 | #887 | 0.12 |
| 1994 | 182 | #1,018 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 176 | #1,043 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 144 | #1,208 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 163 | #1,100 | 0.09 |
| 1990 | 158 | #1,102 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 132 | #1,218 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 112 | #1,294 | 0.06 |
| 1987 | 132 | #1,129 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 117 | #1,199 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 110 | #1,244 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 122 | #1,127 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 125 | #1,098 | 0.07 |
| 1982 | 150 | #985 | 0.09 |
| 1981 | 164 | #914 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 138 | #1,035 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 159 | #924 | 0.10 |
| 1978 | 148 | #949 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 129 | #1,032 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 129 | #989 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 134 | #944 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 148 | #877 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 125 | #959 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 132 | #931 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 109 | #1,100 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 104 | #1,129 | 0.06 |
| 1969 | 121 | #976 | 0.07 |
| 1968 | 99 | #1,059 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 118 | #941 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 103 | #1,018 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 120 | #925 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 146 | #862 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 116 | #990 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 140 | #893 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 133 | #931 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 136 | #904 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 143 | #853 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 121 | #937 | 0.06 |
| 1957 | 152 | #823 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 103 | #1,007 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 144 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 160 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 167 | #709 | 0.09 |
| 1952 | 166 | #691 | 0.09 |
| 1951 | 177 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1950 | 167 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1949 | 153 | #675 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 199 | #591 | 0.12 |
| 1947 | 184 | #619 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 179 | #595 | 0.11 |
| 1945 | 179 | #548 | 0.14 |
| 1944 | 164 | #571 | 0.12 |
| 1943 | 145 | #631 | 0.10 |
| 1942 | 137 | #639 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 115 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 147 | #576 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 115 | #635 | 0.10 |
| 1938 | 124 | #613 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 111 | #644 | 0.10 |
| 1936 | 139 | #552 | 0.13 |
| 1935 | 124 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1934 | 153 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1933 | 138 | #542 | 0.14 |
| 1932 | 143 | #546 | 0.13 |
| 1931 | 169 | #495 | 0.16 |
| 1930 | 169 | #518 | 0.15 |
| 1929 | 219 | #446 | 0.20 |
| 1928 | 228 | #453 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 190 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 202 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1925 | 184 | #524 | 0.15 |
| 1924 | 174 | #555 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 156 | #577 | 0.13 |
| 1922 | 112 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 115 | #691 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 115 | #677 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 96 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 75 | #826 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 62 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1916 | 50 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 54 | #896 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 40 | #934 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 30 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,188 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 14 | #1,261 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 13 | #1,285 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,831 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 12 | #1,225 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 9 | #1,431 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 5 | #2,044 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Esperanza a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Esperanza has been given almost only to girls: 35 boys in 122 years of records.
Girls and boys named Esperanza: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Esperanza, and how old are they?
16,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 78% of the 20,884 Americans ever recorded as Esperanza. The median Esperanza alive today is 27 years old; half are between 16 and 52.
The 2020 Census counted 36,013 people named Esperanza (35,897 women and girls, 116 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,696 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.3 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 764 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,210 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,880 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,430 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,320 |
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 Esperanza born?
The states with the most babies named Esperanza are California, Texas and Arizona, with 76% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Arizona is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 43 | #722 | 2.6× |
| Texas | 29 | #989 | 4.0× |
| Arizona | 15 | #453 | 3.5× |
| Colorado | 8 | #659 | 1.5× |
| Florida | 8 | #1,594 | 0.5× |
| New York | 6 | #1,894 | 0.3× |
| New Mexico | 5 | #329 | 6.3× |
Where Esperanza is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Esperanza is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 6.3 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 Esperanza 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 20,956 babies since 1880, Esperanza is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 188 of their 188 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 Esperanza
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 Esperanza and names like it
- Compare Esperanza and EsparanzaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sEsperanza peaked in 2000.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Esperanza since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Esperanza: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2000The year the most babies were named Esperanza.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Esperanza alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with EMost given first.