Girls' name · since 1951
Kristal
Kristal has 12,079 recorded births since 1951 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1982 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,489 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #7,564 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 12,079
- born since 1951
- 1980s
- peak decade
Yes -- Kristal is the #7564 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 12,079 recorded since 1951.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kristal has been recorded 12,079 times among girls since 1951, currently ranked #7564 nationally and more common than 56% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1980s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1951 to 2025.
- #1,489 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #7,564 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 12,079 born since 1951
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kristal ranks #1,489 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,564 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 12,079 born since 1951, peaking in the 1980s.
- #1,489 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #7,564 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 12,079
- born since 1951
- 1980s
- peak decade
Kristal's 12,079 recorded births place it above 97.94% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kristal compares
12,079 Top 9% higher than 91% 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
Kristal's all-time total is 32x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kristal | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 12,079 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 582 | 21 | 19,840 |
Kristal's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Kristal splits its recorded history at 1988: 37% of all births land in the more recent half, 63% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1951 (7 births) -- compare that against the 1982 peak of 582 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Kristal popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1951–2025
- Peak year (1982)
- 582
- Annual births at peak, across 75 years of records
Kristal by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (4,338 births, 36% of the file).
1980s was Kristal's strongest decade.
4,338 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 36% of all-time use.
Kristal births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1950s 181
1950s
181 births
- 1960s 953
1960s
953 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,788 births
- 1980s
1980s
4,338 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,087 births
- 2000s 1,166
2000s
1,166 births
- 2010s 469
2010s
469 births
- 2020s 97
2020s
97 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 4,338 births (36% of all-time use).
How Kristal 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 Kristal's total volume
Kristal by state
Where Kristal concentrates geographically, total births since 1951
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,660 | 13.7% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,453 | 12.0% |
| #3 | New York | | 720 | 6.0% |
| #4 | Florida | | 524 | 4.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 438 | 3.6% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 437 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 339 | 2.8% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 244 | 2.0% |
1,660 of 12,079 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.
Kristal appears in 43 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Kristal? ▼
Where does Kristal sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Kristal most popular? ▼
Where is Kristal most popular? ▼
How long has the name Kristal been used? ▼
What names are similar to Kristal? ▼
What to do with Kristal's data
- Kristal's decade-level peak was the 1980s (4,338 total births); usage has since declined to 97 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Kristals (1,660 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 Kristal
Nearby Names Like Kristal
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kristal
Compare Kristal side by side: Kristal vs Kristen Kristal vs Kristin Kristal vs Kristina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kristal
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kristal: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1982)
Similar record span (~74 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, 1951–2025 (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 Kristal 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.