Girls' name · since 1937
Kirsten
Since 1937, U.S. Social Security records show 53,181 babies named Kirsten, peaking in 1991. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #566 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,831 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,181
- born since 1937
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Kirsten is the #2831 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 53,181 recorded since 1937.
Kirsten has 53,181 recorded births among girls since 1937, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2831 as of the latest data, more common than 84% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1937 to 2025.
- #566 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,831 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 53,181 born since 1937
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kirsten ranks #566 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,831 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 53,181 born since 1937, peaking in the 1990s.
- #566 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,831 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,181
- born since 1937
- 1990s
- peak decade
Kirsten's 53,181 recorded births place it above 99.21% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kirsten compares
53,181 Top 4% higher than 96% 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
Kirsten's all-time total is 141x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kirsten | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 53,181 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,931 | 21 | 19,840 |
Kirsten's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Kirsten's full recorded timeline at 1981, 68% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 32% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1937, with just 10 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1991 peak of 1,931 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Kirsten popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1937–2025
- Peak year (1991)
- 1,931
- Annual births at peak, across 89 years of records
Kirsten popularity over time - boys
212 total births recorded since 1963 (Kirsten as boys' name)
Kirsten by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (16,882 births, 32% of the file).
1990s was Kirsten's strongest decade.
16,882 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 32% of all-time use.
Kirsten births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1930s 40
1930s
40 births
- 1940s 297
1940s
297 births
- 1950s 813
1950s
813 births
- 1960s 6,662
1960s
6,662 births
- 1970s
1970s
8,263 births
- 1980s
1980s
8,741 births
- 1990s
1990s
16,882 births
- 2000s
2000s
9,337 births
- 2010s 1,809
2010s
1,809 births
- 2020s 337
2020s
337 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 16,882 births (32% of all-time use).
How Kirsten 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 Kirsten's total volume
Kirsten by state
Where Kirsten concentrates geographically, total births since 1937
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 5,967 | 11.2% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 2,886 | 5.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 2,885 | 5.4% |
| #4 | Texas | | 2,823 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 2,559 | 4.8% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 2,236 | 4.2% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 1,981 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Minnesota | | 1,805 | 3.4% |
5,967 of 53,181 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Kirsten appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Kirsten? ▼
Where does Kirsten sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Kirsten most popular? ▼
Where is Kirsten most popular? ▼
How long has the name Kirsten been used? ▼
What names are similar to Kirsten? ▼
What to do with Kirsten's data
- Kirsten's decade-level peak was the 1990s (16,882 total births); usage has since declined to 337 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Kirstens (5,967 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 Kirsten
Nearby Names Like Kirsten
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kirsten
Compare Kirsten side by side: Kirsten vs Kira Kirsten vs Kirstin Kirsten vs Kirstie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kirsten
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kirsten: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1991)
Similar record span (~88 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, 1937–2025 (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 Kirsten 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.