Girls' name · since 1892
Mara
24,038 babies named Mara in U.S. Social Security records since 1892, with the highest year being 2021. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #940 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #587 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 24,038
- born since 1892
- 2000s
- peak decade
Yes -- Mara is the #587 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 24,038 recorded since 1892.
Mara has 24,038 recorded births among girls since 1892, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #587 as of the latest data, more common than 97% of girls, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1892 to 2025.
- #940 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #587 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 24,038 born since 1892
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Mara ranks #940 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #587 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 24,038 born since 1892, peaking in the 2000s.
- #940 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #587 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 24,038
- born since 1892
- 2000s
- peak decade
Mara's 24,038 recorded births place it above 98.7% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
47 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Mara compares
24,038 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Mara's all-time total is 64x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Mara | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 24,038 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 568 | 21 | 19,840 |
Mara's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Mara's full recorded timeline at 1968, 85% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 15% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1912, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2021 peak of 568 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Mara popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1892–2025
- Peak year (2021)
- 568
- Annual births at peak, across 134 years of records
Mara popularity over time - boys
16 total births recorded since 1982 (Mara as boys' name)
Mara by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (4,038 births, 17% of the file).
2000s was Mara's strongest decade.
4,038 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 17% of all-time use.
Mara births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 6
1890s
6 births
- 1910s 67
1910s
67 births
- 1920s 130
1920s
130 births
- 1930s 145
1930s
145 births
- 1940s 327
1940s
327 births
- 1950s 1,417
1950s
1,417 births
- 1960s
1960s
1,940 births
- 1970s
1970s
2,565 births
- 1980s
1980s
2,623 births
- 1990s
1990s
3,889 births
- 2000s
2000s
4,038 births
- 2010s
2010s
3,852 births
- 2020s
2020s
3,039 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 4,038 births (17% of all-time use).
How Mara 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 Mara's total volume
Mara by state
Where Mara concentrates geographically, total births since 1892
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 2,451 | 10.2% |
| #2 | New York | | 2,144 | 8.9% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 1,392 | 5.8% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 1,269 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Minnesota | | 1,204 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 1,170 | 4.9% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 1,141 | 4.7% |
| #8 | Texas | | 1,110 | 4.6% |
2,451 of 24,038 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 47 reporting states.
Mara appears in 47 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Mara? ▼
Where does Mara sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Mara most popular? ▼
Where is Mara most popular? ▼
How long has the name Mara been used? ▼
What names are similar to Mara? ▼
What to do with Mara's data
- Mara's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (4,038 total births) through the 2020s (3,039) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Maras (2,451 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 Mara
Nearby Names Like Mara
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Mara
Compare Mara side by side: Mara vs Mary Mara vs Margaret Mara vs Maria
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Mara
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Mara: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2021)
Similar record span (~133 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, 1892–2025 (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 Mara 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.