US rank #317 Girls' name Peak 2000 96,315 births

Hope — #317 US girls' name

96,315 babies named Hope in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2000. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1281890s2931900s4291910s19201920s33761930s20861940s30091950s50081960s87331970s110131980s76251990s143062000s186882010s137482020s5953
#317
of 17,661 girls in use

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

2000s
Peak decade

19% of everyone ever named Hope was born in this single decade.

2000
Single peak year

2,321 babies were named Hope in 2000 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Hope

The Social Security Administration has registered 96,315 babies named Hope between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Hope currently holds the #317 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2000, when 2,321 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Hope performed strongest in the 2000s, accumulating 18,688 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Hope shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 7,389 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Hope in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Hope 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 96,315 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.

Hope at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

96,315

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2000

2,321 births that year

Strongest decade: 2000s

Current rank

#317

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Hope popularity over time — girls

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

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (2000)
2,321
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-1,00001,0002,0003,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 9

Hope popularity over time — boys

563 total births recorded since 1880 (Hope as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 563 births
05101520 202420151995197519511938192619171880 6

Hope by decade

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

Peak: 2000s
Peak decade
2000s
18,688 births that decade — 19% of Hope's all-time total
1880s1281890s2931900s4291910s19201920s33761930s20861940s30091950s50081960s87331970s110131980s76251990s143062000s186882010s137482020s5953

Hope by state

Where Hope concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Hope
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
7,389 7.7%
#2 California
7,191 7.5%
#3 New York
6,279 6.5%
#4 Pennsylvania
5,429 5.6%
#5 Ohio
4,747 4.9%
#6 Illinois
3,828 4.0%
#7 Florida
3,808 4.0%
#8 Michigan
3,686 3.8%
Texas share of Hope's total US births 7.7%
Even split

7,389 of 96,315 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Hope appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Hope?
96,315 babies have been named Hope since 1880. It currently ranks #317 among girls. The peak year was 2000 with 2,321 births.
When was Hope most popular?
Hope was most popular in the 2000s decade with 18,688 total births. The single peak year was 2000.
Where is Hope most popular?
The top states for the name Hope are Texas (7,389 births), California (7,191 births), New York (6,279 births).
How long has the name Hope been used?
Hope has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Hope?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Hopelynn, Hopie, Hopelyn, Hopemarie, and 1 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Hope

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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.