Geraldine
Geraldine was given to 73 girls in 2025, #2,447 among girls’ names; 212,097 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 74,500 Americans named Geraldine and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (35% of everyone recorded); the median is 77 years old and half are between 68 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Geraldine by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Geraldine mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Geraldine is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “one of the Fitzgeralds” (Fitzgerald,).
From Gerald + -ine. c. 1540 by the Earl of Surrey as a poetic name for Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald, “one of the Fitzgeralds”. Taken up as a given name in the 19th century, and used as a feminine form of Gerald.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Geraldine?
#2,447 among girls’ names, 2025
Geraldine fell from #1,648 in 2015 to #2,447 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 72.8 to 45.4 per million.
5,471 babies in 1930, the peak
Geraldine peaked in 1930, when 5,471 babies were given it (5,448 girls, #43 among girls’ names). The 73 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 | #2,447 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 98 | #2,004 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 131 | #1,599 | 0.08 |
| 2022 | 131 | #1,617 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 132 | #1,590 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 98 | #1,952 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 147 | #1,490 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 121 | #1,713 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 132 | #1,637 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 140 | #1,583 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 130 | #1,648 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 158 | #1,442 | 0.09 |
| 2013 | 163 | #1,406 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 254 | #995 | 0.14 |
| 2011 | 265 | #967 | 0.15 |
| 2010 | 209 | #1,162 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 202 | #1,231 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 165 | #1,431 | 0.09 |
| 2007 | 137 | #1,625 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 144 | #1,522 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 165 | #1,331 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 186 | #1,201 | 0.10 |
| 2003 | 127 | #1,528 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 92 | #1,921 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 104 | #1,727 | 0.06 |
| 2000 | 95 | #1,818 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 82 | #1,918 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 94 | #1,691 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 83 | #1,804 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 90 | #1,690 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 115 | #1,418 | 0.07 |
| 1994 | 102 | #1,521 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 119 | #1,376 | 0.07 |
| 1992 | 153 | #1,147 | 0.08 |
| 1991 | 162 | #1,107 | 0.09 |
| 1990 | 198 | #949 | 0.10 |
| 1989 | 250 | #775 | 0.14 |
| 1988 | 355 | #576 | 0.20 |
| 1987 | 138 | #1,101 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 122 | #1,165 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 125 | #1,143 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 107 | #1,220 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 103 | #1,234 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 125 | #1,128 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 127 | #1,094 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 109 | #1,209 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 112 | #1,179 | 0.07 |
| 1978 | 120 | #1,090 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 120 | #1,081 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 163 | #840 | 0.11 |
| 1975 | 156 | #859 | 0.11 |
| 1974 | 179 | #773 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 236 | #639 | 0.16 |
| 1972 | 218 | #679 | 0.14 |
| 1971 | 411 | #478 | 0.25 |
| 1970 | 517 | #426 | 0.30 |
| 1969 | 566 | #400 | 0.34 |
| 1968 | 670 | #337 | 0.41 |
| 1967 | 741 | #320 | 0.45 |
| 1966 | 823 | #308 | 0.49 |
| 1965 | 916 | #291 | 0.52 |
| 1964 | 1,102 | #272 | 0.58 |
| 1963 | 1,059 | #279 | 0.55 |
| 1962 | 1,199 | #260 | 0.61 |
| 1961 | 1,283 | #244 | 0.64 |
| 1960 | 1,430 | #224 | 0.71 |
| 1959 | 1,452 | #220 | 0.72 |
| 1958 | 1,565 | #208 | 0.78 |
| 1957 | 1,855 | #189 | 0.91 |
| 1956 | 2,061 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1955 | 2,197 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1954 | 2,571 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1953 | 2,673 | #135 | 1.4 |
| 1952 | 3,047 | #119 | 1.6 |
| 1951 | 3,350 | #108 | 1.9 |
| 1950 | 3,451 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 1949 | 3,919 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1948 | 4,208 | #83 | 2.5 |
| 1947 | 4,811 | #78 | 2.7 |
| 1946 | 4,849 | #66 | 3.1 |
| 1945 | 4,475 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1944 | 4,666 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1943 | 5,189 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1942 | 5,437 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1941 | 5,229 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 1940 | 5,150 | #46 | 4.5 |
| 1939 | 5,160 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1938 | 4,652 | #45 | 4.2 |
| 1937 | 4,556 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1936 | 4,864 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1935 | 4,818 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1934 | 4,837 | #43 | 4.6 |
| 1933 | 4,962 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1932 | 5,332 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1931 | 5,413 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 1930 | 5,448 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1929 | 5,334 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1928 | 5,156 | #50 | 4.5 |
| 1927 | 4,930 | #58 | 4.1 |
| 1926 | 4,812 | #54 | 4.1 |
| 1925 | 4,838 | #54 | 4.0 |
| 1924 | 4,833 | #58 | 3.9 |
| 1923 | 4,712 | #58 | 3.9 |
| 1922 | 4,641 | #58 | 3.9 |
| 1921 | 4,523 | #62 | 3.7 |
| 1920 | 4,265 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1919 | 3,727 | #68 | 3.3 |
| 1918 | 3,446 | #77 | 3.0 |
| 1917 | 2,897 | #89 | 2.7 |
| 1916 | 2,549 | #94 | 2.4 |
| 1915 | 1,866 | #108 | 1.9 |
| 1914 | 1,320 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1913 | 1,058 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1912 | 949 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 1911 | 627 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 1910 | 551 | #148 | 1.4 |
| 1909 | 444 | #156 | 1.3 |
| 1908 | 362 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1907 | 344 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1906 | 321 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1905 | 259 | #190 | 0.89 |
| 1904 | 219 | #204 | 0.80 |
| 1903 | 198 | #214 | 0.76 |
| 1902 | 156 | #245 | 0.59 |
| 1901 | 141 | #243 | 0.59 |
| 1900 | 145 | #269 | 0.48 |
| 1899 | 130 | #245 | 0.56 |
| 1898 | 110 | #296 | 0.43 |
| 1897 | 86 | #313 | 0.37 |
| 1896 | 86 | #313 | 0.36 |
| 1895 | 81 | #320 | 0.35 |
| 1894 | 73 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1893 | 56 | #360 | 0.26 |
| 1892 | 60 | #339 | 0.28 |
| 1891 | 49 | #355 | 0.26 |
| 1890 | 27 | #501 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 29 | #458 | 0.16 |
| 1888 | 40 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 16 | #569 | 0.11 |
| 1886 | 25 | #433 | 0.17 |
| 1885 | 19 | #491 | 0.14 |
| 1884 | 18 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 15 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 12 | #543 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 11 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 7 | #700 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Geraldine a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Geraldine has been given almost only to girls: 748 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Geraldine: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Geraldine, and how old are they?
74,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 35% of the 212,097 Americans ever recorded as Geraldine. The median Geraldine alive today is 77 years old; half are between 68 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 92,416 people named Geraldine (92,259 women and girls, 157 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 97,138 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 26,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 35,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,540 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,350 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,380 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,640 |
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 Geraldine born?
The states with the most babies named Geraldine are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 21,601 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 18,092 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 13,379 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 10,780 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 10,070 | #1,522 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 9,708 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 7,073 | #1,953 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 6,691 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 6,156 | #1,541 | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 6,144 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Geraldine is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Geraldine is most over-represented in Michigan: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 Geraldine 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 218,686 babies since 1880, Geraldine is the most given (97% of them). In 2025 it was given to 73 of their 73 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 Geraldine
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 Geraldine and names like it
- Compare Geraldine and GearldineBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sGeraldine peaked in 1930.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Geraldine since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Geraldine: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1930The year the most babies were named Geraldine.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Geraldine alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.