US rank #435 Girls' name Peak 1918 338,289 births

Florence — #435 US girls' name

338,289 babies named Florence in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s166991890s323451900s361911910s814651920s882951930s379401940s203941950s105981960s50811970s22271980s12721990s8292000s6002010s18282020s2525
#435
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 98% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

26% of everyone ever named Florence was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

11,318 babies were named Florence in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Florence

The Social Security Administration has registered 338,289 babies named Florence between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Florence currently holds the #435 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 11,318 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Florence performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 88,295 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Florence shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 40,926 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and Illinois. In total, SSA state-level files list Florence in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Florence 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 338,289 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.

Florence at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

338,289

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

11,318 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#435

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Florence popularity over time — girls

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

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1918)
11,318
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 1,063

Florence popularity over time — boys

1,454 total births recorded since 1880 (Florence as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,454 births
01020304050 202419541938192819181908189818881880 8

Florence by decade

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

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
88,295 births that decade — 26% of Florence's all-time total
1880s166991890s323451900s361911910s814651920s882951930s379401940s203941950s105981960s50811970s22271980s12721990s8292000s6002010s18282020s2525

Florence by state

Where Florence concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Florence
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
40,926 12.1%
#2 Pennsylvania
29,222 8.6%
#3 Illinois
16,697 4.9%
#4 New Jersey
13,173 3.9%
#5 Ohio
12,667 3.7%
#6 Massachusetts
10,501 3.1%
#7 Michigan
9,460 2.8%
#8 California
8,153 2.4%
New York share of Florence's total US births 12.1%
Even split

40,926 of 338,289 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Florence appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Florence?
338,289 babies have been named Florence since 1880. It currently ranks #435 among girls. The peak year was 1918 with 11,318 births.
When was Florence most popular?
Florence was most popular in the 1920s decade with 88,295 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Florence most popular?
The top states for the name Florence are New York (40,926 births), Pennsylvania (29,222 births), Illinois (16,697 births).
How long has the name Florence been used?
Florence has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Florence?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Flora, Flossie, Florine, Flor, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Florence

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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.