Girls' name · since 1880
Minerva
15,823 babies named Minerva in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1955. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,236 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,099 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,823
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Minerva currently ranks #2099 among girls' names in America, with 15,823 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Minerva recorded 15,823 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #2099 nationally today, ahead of 88% of girls, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,236 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,099 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 15,823 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Minerva ranks #1,236 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,099 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 15,823 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #1,236 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,099 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,823
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Minerva's 15,823 recorded births place it above 98.29% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
35 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Minerva compares
15,823 Top 7% higher than 93% 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
Minerva's all-time total is 42x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Minerva | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 15,823 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 221 | 21 | 19,840 |
Minerva's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Minerva's full recorded timeline at 1953, 45% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 55% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2010, with just 37 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1955 peak of 221 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Minerva popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1955)
- 221
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Minerva by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (1,874 births, 12% of the file).
1950s was Minerva's strongest decade.
1,874 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 12% of all-time use.
Minerva births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 661
1880s
661 births
- 1890s
1890s
781 births
- 1900s
1900s
828 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,591 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,738 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,248 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,337 births
- 1950s
1950s
1,874 births
- 1960s
1960s
1,585 births
- 1970s
1970s
1,070 births
- 1980s
1980s
837 births
- 1990s 669
1990s
669 births
- 2000s 555
2000s
555 births
- 2010s 557
2010s
557 births
- 2020s 492
2020s
492 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 1,874 births (12% of all-time use).
How Minerva 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 Minerva's total volume
Minerva by state
Where Minerva concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 3,849 | 24.3% |
| #2 | California | | 1,543 | 9.8% |
| #3 | New York | | 1,499 | 9.5% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 773 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 383 | 2.4% |
| #6 | New Jersey | | 235 | 1.5% |
| #7 | Kentucky | | 162 | 1.0% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 118 | 0.7% |
3,849 of 15,823 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 35 reporting states.
Minerva appears in 35 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Minerva? ▼
Where does Minerva sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Minerva most popular? ▼
Where is Minerva most popular? ▼
How long has the name Minerva been used? ▼
What names are similar to Minerva? ▼
What to do with Minerva's data
- Minerva's decade-level peak was the 1950s (1,874 total births); usage has since declined to 492 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Minervas (3,849 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Minerva
Nearby Names Like Minerva
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Minerva
Compare Minerva side by side: Minerva vs Minnie Minerva vs Mindy Minerva vs Mina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Minerva
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Minerva: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1955)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Minerva 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.