Patience
Patience was given to 172 girls in 2025, #1,297 among girls’ names; 12,469 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,500 Americans named Patience and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (92% of everyone recorded); the median is 21 years old and half are between 13 and 32.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Patience by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Patience mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Patience is “a female given name from English.”
From patience, a virtue name first used by Puritans in the sixteenth century.
/ˈpeɪʃəns/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Patience?
#1,297 among girls’ names, 2025
Patience fell from #1,070 in 2015 to #1,297 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.14 to 0.11 per 1,000.
508 babies in 2006, the peak
Patience peaked in 2006, when 508 girls were given it, #578 among girls’ names. The 172 births of 2025 are 34% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 172 | #1,297 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 174 | #1,324 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 198 | #1,207 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 203 | #1,189 | 0.12 |
| 2021 | 231 | #1,084 | 0.14 |
| 2020 | 229 | #1,080 | 0.14 |
| 2019 | 236 | #1,071 | 0.14 |
| 2018 | 213 | #1,147 | 0.13 |
| 2017 | 181 | #1,302 | 0.10 |
| 2016 | 206 | #1,206 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 246 | #1,070 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 273 | #978 | 0.15 |
| 2013 | 291 | #887 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 316 | #845 | 0.18 |
| 2011 | 315 | #839 | 0.18 |
| 2010 | 341 | #803 | 0.19 |
| 2009 | 383 | #746 | 0.21 |
| 2008 | 384 | #765 | 0.20 |
| 2007 | 454 | #653 | 0.24 |
| 2006 | 508 | #578 | 0.27 |
| 2005 | 472 | #604 | 0.26 |
| 2004 | 293 | #842 | 0.16 |
| 2003 | 277 | #868 | 0.15 |
| 2002 | 264 | #869 | 0.15 |
| 2001 | 242 | #923 | 0.13 |
| 2000 | 246 | #893 | 0.14 |
| 1999 | 230 | #918 | 0.13 |
| 1998 | 252 | #849 | 0.14 |
| 1997 | 225 | #897 | 0.13 |
| 1996 | 255 | #806 | 0.15 |
| 1995 | 209 | #904 | 0.12 |
| 1994 | 202 | #932 | 0.11 |
| 1993 | 163 | #1,106 | 0.09 |
| 1992 | 176 | #1,047 | 0.10 |
| 1991 | 158 | #1,123 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 170 | #1,052 | 0.09 |
| 1989 | 113 | #1,362 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 66 | #1,881 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 65 | #1,805 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 75 | #1,597 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 63 | #1,798 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 64 | #1,722 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 70 | #1,600 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 61 | #1,801 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 78 | #1,541 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 104 | #1,257 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 76 | #1,539 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 102 | #1,227 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 90 | #1,301 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 79 | #1,367 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 89 | #1,264 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 77 | #1,362 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 94 | #1,165 | 0.06 |
| 1972 | 54 | #1,664 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 50 | #1,792 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 39 | #2,107 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 32 | #2,285 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 33 | #2,115 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 32 | #2,106 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 45 | #1,691 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 42 | #1,758 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 39 | #1,911 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 27 | #2,344 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 35 | #1,978 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 36 | #1,943 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 39 | #1,827 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 29 | #2,138 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 30 | #2,058 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 39 | #1,739 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 29 | #2,039 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 27 | #2,093 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 30 | #1,935 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 24 | #2,163 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 15 | #2,891 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 17 | #2,547 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 18 | #2,409 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 15 | #2,696 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 16 | #2,570 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 24 | #2,031 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 22 | #2,008 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 16 | #2,216 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 19 | #2,011 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 27 | #1,650 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 20 | #1,962 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 36 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1940 | 21 | #1,780 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 22 | #1,672 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 27 | #1,470 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 24 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 17 | #1,933 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 16 | #2,079 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 16 | #2,068 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 7 | #3,669 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 15 | #2,212 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 18 | #1,930 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 9 | #3,266 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,545 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 18 | #2,077 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 14 | #2,517 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 16 | #2,328 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 12 | #2,899 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 21 | #1,981 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 20 | #2,007 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 17 | #2,261 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 14 | #2,608 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 18 | #2,151 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 17 | #2,134 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 19 | #2,013 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 26 | #1,499 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 17 | #2,008 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 18 | #1,867 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 18 | #1,592 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 11 | #1,995 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 7 | #2,143 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,497 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,724 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 13 | #1,186 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,687 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,657 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 8 | #1,453 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,551 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,978 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 10 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 10 | #1,295 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 10 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,147 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 11 | #1,033 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 9 | #1,187 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 11 | #987 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,605 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,412 | 0.03 |
| 1891 | 12 | #831 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 9 | #992 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 8 | #1,017 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 8 | #927 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 11 | #687 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 7 | #909 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 6 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #879 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 6 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1880 | 7 | #726 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Patience a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Patience has been given almost only to girls: 44 boys in 141 years of records.
Girls and boys named Patience: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Patience, and how old are they?
11,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 92% of the 12,469 Americans ever recorded as Patience. The median Patience alive today is 21 years old; half are between 13 and 32.
The 2020 Census counted 10,871 people named Patience (10,779 women and girls, 92 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 10,439 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 112 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 405 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 971 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,940 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,160 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,870 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Patience born?
The states with the most babies named Patience are Texas, Florida and Georgia, with 35% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 14 | #1,692 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 14 | #1,100 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 13 | #789 | 1.1× |
| South Carolina | 10 | #510 | 1.3× |
| California | 8 | #2,439 | 0.4× |
| Alabama | 8 | #621 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,246 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 7 | #1,207 | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,398 | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 6 | #1,006 | 1.1× |
Where Patience is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Patience is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Patience with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 12,562 babies since 1880, Patience is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 172 of their 177 babies (97%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Patience
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Patience and names like it
- Compare Patience and PaytienceBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sPatience peaked in 2006.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Patience since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Patience: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2006The year the most babies were named Patience.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Patience alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with PMost given first.