Girls' name · since 1917
Gardenia
Gardenia has 1,354 recorded births since 1917 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1992 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #6,109 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #12,033 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,354
- born since 1917
- 1990s
- peak decade
1,354 babies have been named Gardenia since 1917, making it today's #12033 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gardenia has been recorded 1,354 times among girls since 1917, currently ranked #12033 nationally and more common than 30% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1990s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1917 to 2025.
- #6,109 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #12,033 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,354 born since 1917
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gardenia ranks #6,109 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,033 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,354 born since 1917, peaking in the 1990s.
- #6,109 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #12,033 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,354
- born since 1917
- 1990s
- peak decade
Gardenia's 1,354 recorded births place it above 91.54% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
6 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Gardenia compares
1,354 Top 28% higher than 72% 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
Gardenia's all-time total is 4x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Gardenia | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,354 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 70 | 21 | 19,840 |
Gardenia's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Gardenia splits its recorded history at 1976: 57% of all births land in the more recent half, 43% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1917 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1992 peak of 70 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Gardenia popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1917–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 70
- Annual births at peak, across 109 years of records
Gardenia by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (315 births, 23% of the file).
1990s was Gardenia's strongest decade.
315 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Gardenia births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 10
1910s
10 births
- 1920s 18
1920s
18 births
- 1930s 118
1930s
118 births
- 1940s
1940s
148 births
- 1950s
1950s
154 births
- 1960s 99
1960s
99 births
- 1970s 75
1970s
75 births
- 1980s 79
1980s
79 births
- 1990s
1990s
315 births
- 2000s
2000s
178 births
- 2010s 114
2010s
114 births
- 2020s 46
2020s
46 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 315 births (23% of all-time use).
How Gardenia 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 Gardenia's total volume
Gardenia by state
Where Gardenia concentrates geographically, total births since 1917
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 257 | 19.0% |
| #2 | South Carolina | | 59 | 4.4% |
| #3 | Texas | | 29 | 2.1% |
| #4 | New York | | 11 | 0.8% |
| #5 | Oregon | | 6 | 0.4% |
| #6 | Arizona | | 5 | 0.4% |
257 of 1,354 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 6 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Gardenia? ▼
Where does Gardenia sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Gardenia most popular? ▼
Where is Gardenia most popular? ▼
How long has the name Gardenia been used? ▼
What names are similar to Gardenia? ▼
What to do with Gardenia's data
- Gardenia's decade-level peak was the 1990s (315 total births); usage has since declined to 46 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Gardenias (257 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 Gardenia
Nearby Names Like Gardenia
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gardenia
Compare Gardenia side by side: Gardenia vs Garnet Gardenia vs Gary Gardenia vs Garnett
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Gardenia
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Gardenia: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1992)
Similar record span (~108 yrs)
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, 1917–2025 (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 Gardenia 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.