Total births
12,425
Girls' name · since 1880
Patience
12,425 babies named Patience in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2006. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1317
- among girls today
- 12,425
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 93%
- more common than other girls
Patience currently ranks #1317 among girls' names in America, with 12,425 babies recorded since 1880.
Patience has 12,425 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1317 as of the latest data, more common than 93% 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 1880 to 2025.
- #1317 among girls today
- 12,425 born since 1880
- 2000s peak decade
- 93% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Patience is currently the #1317 girls' name in America, more common than 93% of girls - 12,425 born since 1880, peaking in the 2000s.
- #1317
- among girls today
- 12,425
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 93%
- more common than other girls
Patience vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#1317
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 93% of names given to girls today.
2000s
Peak decade
28% of everyone ever named Patience was born in this single decade.
2006
Single peak year
508 babies were named Patience in 2006 - its busiest year on record.
How Patience compares
12,425 Top 8% higher than 92% of 17,726 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
Patience's all-time total is 33x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Patience | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 12,425 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 508 | 48 | 19,840 |
Patience's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Patience splits its recorded history at 1955: 92% of all births land in the more recent half, 8% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1893 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2006 peak of 508 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Patience at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
2006
Current rank
#1,317
Active since
1880
Patience popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2006)
- 508
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Patience popularity over time - boys
44 total births recorded since 2008 (Patience as boys' name)
Patience by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
2000s was Patience's strongest decade.
3,523 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 28% of all-time use.
Patience births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 59
1880s
59 births
- 1890s 82
1890s
82 births
- 1900s 75
1900s
75 births
- 1910s 144
1910s
144 births
- 1920s 163
1920s
163 births
- 1930s 171
1930s
171 births
- 1940s 216
1940s
216 births
- 1950s 258
1950s
258 births
- 1960s 360
1960s
360 births
- 1970s 750
1970s
750 births
- 1980s 759
1980s
759 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,040 births
- 2000s
2000s
3,523 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,618 births
- 2020s 1,207
2020s
1,207 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 3,523 births (28% of all-time use).
How Patience 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 Patience's total volume
Patience vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Patience by state
Where Patience concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 742 | 6.0% |
| #2 | California | | 584 | 4.7% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 542 | 4.4% |
| #4 | Florida | | 463 | 3.7% |
| #5 | Georgia | | 448 | 3.6% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 446 | 3.6% |
| #7 | New York | | 392 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Pennsylvania | | 391 | 3.1% |
Texas share of Patience's total US births 6.0%
Even split
742 of 12,425 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 42 reporting states.
Patience appears in 42 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Patience? ▼
Since 1880, Social Security records show 12,425 babies named Patience. Today it holds rank #1317 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 2006, with 508 births.
When was Patience most popular? ▼
Patience was most popular in the 2000s decade with 3,523 total births. The single peak year was 2006.
Where is Patience most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Patience are Texas (742 births), California (584 births), Ohio (542 births).
How long has the name Patience been used? ▼
Patience has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Patience? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Patricia, Patsy, Patty, Patti, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Patience's data
- Patience's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (3,523 total births) through the 2020s (1,207) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Patiences (742 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Patience
Nearby Names Like Patience
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Patience
Patricia Girl
#1293 1,573,623 births
Patsy Girl
#6644 119,448 births
Patty Girl
#12170 62,452 births
Patti Girl
44,711 births
Pat Girl
40,123 births
Compare Patience side by side: Patience vs Patricia Patience vs Patsy Patience vs Patty
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Patience
Renesmee #1316
2,068 births · Peak 2024
Annabella #1318
15,007 births · Peak 2014
Emani #1315
6,329 births · Peak 2019
Maeva #1319
1,416 births · Peak 2023
Addie #1314
45,361 births · Peak 1920
Aracely #1320
9,906 births · Peak 2003
Eliora #1313
1,672 births · Peak 2025
Mariela #1321
11,660 births · Peak 1992
Data Sources
Data as of June 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).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Patience: #1317 Girls' Name - 12,425 Births, Peak 2006." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/patience. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Patience 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 June 2026.