Peggy
Peggy was given to 12 girls in 2025, #8,738 among girls’ names; 293,563 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 168,000 Americans named Peggy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (57% of everyone recorded); the median is 72 years old and half are between 66 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Peggy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Peggy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Peggy is “a diminutive of the female given name Margaret, also used as a formal given name.”
Alteration of Maggie, from Margaret.
/ˈpɛɡi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Peggy?
#8,738 among girls’ names, 2025
Peggy rose from #8,823 in 2015 to #8,738 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 7.3 to 7.5 per million.
10,085 babies in 1958, the peak
Peggy peaked in 1958, when 10,085 babies were given it (10,071 girls, #42 among girls’ names). The 12 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,738 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 13 | #8,312 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 24 | #5,345 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 15 | #7,548 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 18 | #6,611 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 20 | #6,020 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 35 | #4,137 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 23 | #5,579 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 23 | #5,626 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #6,611 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13 | #8,823 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 22 | #5,942 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 17 | #7,296 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,521 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 25 | #5,500 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 18 | #7,144 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 27 | #5,341 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,396 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 32 | #4,639 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 33 | #4,439 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 34 | #4,173 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 21 | #5,912 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 33 | #4,088 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 33 | #3,950 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 42 | #3,295 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 56 | #2,659 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 51 | #2,723 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 55 | #2,520 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 77 | #1,909 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 66 | #2,097 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 90 | #1,644 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 98 | #1,567 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 114 | #1,422 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 125 | #1,340 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 146 | #1,189 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 181 | #1,005 | 0.10 |
| 1989 | 213 | #867 | 0.12 |
| 1988 | 227 | #808 | 0.13 |
| 1987 | 233 | #770 | 0.13 |
| 1986 | 256 | #704 | 0.15 |
| 1985 | 250 | #700 | 0.15 |
| 1984 | 328 | #563 | 0.19 |
| 1983 | 285 | #614 | 0.17 |
| 1982 | 367 | #534 | 0.22 |
| 1981 | 437 | #483 | 0.26 |
| 1980 | 487 | #440 | 0.29 |
| 1979 | 519 | #413 | 0.32 |
| 1978 | 613 | #351 | 0.40 |
| 1977 | 715 | #329 | 0.47 |
| 1976 | 759 | #303 | 0.52 |
| 1975 | 895 | #268 | 0.61 |
| 1974 | 942 | #271 | 0.64 |
| 1973 | 1,139 | #220 | 0.78 |
| 1972 | 1,344 | #208 | 0.88 |
| 1971 | 1,690 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,900 | #174 | 1.1 |
| 1969 | 2,059 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1968 | 2,113 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,267 | #151 | 1.4 |
| 1966 | 2,647 | #139 | 1.6 |
| 1965 | 3,102 | #124 | 1.8 |
| 1964 | 3,849 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1963 | 4,104 | #106 | 2.1 |
| 1962 | 4,900 | #93 | 2.5 |
| 1961 | 5,567 | #88 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 6,428 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 1959 | 7,416 | #57 | 3.7 |
| 1958 | 10,071 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1957 | 7,383 | #62 | 3.6 |
| 1956 | 7,494 | #63 | 3.7 |
| 1955 | 7,983 | #51 | 4.1 |
| 1954 | 8,454 | #48 | 4.4 |
| 1953 | 8,762 | #44 | 4.7 |
| 1952 | 8,990 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1951 | 9,208 | #40 | 5.1 |
| 1950 | 8,532 | #41 | 5.0 |
| 1949 | 9,118 | #38 | 5.3 |
| 1948 | 9,089 | #38 | 5.4 |
| 1947 | 8,877 | #42 | 5.0 |
| 1946 | 7,400 | #43 | 4.7 |
| 1945 | 5,839 | #45 | 4.5 |
| 1944 | 6,019 | #45 | 4.5 |
| 1943 | 6,511 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1942 | 6,580 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1941 | 6,561 | #39 | 5.4 |
| 1940 | 6,128 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1939 | 6,050 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 1938 | 6,343 | #35 | 5.7 |
| 1937 | 6,378 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1936 | 6,068 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1935 | 5,270 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1934 | 6,027 | #36 | 5.8 |
| 1933 | 5,534 | #36 | 5.5 |
| 1932 | 5,445 | #40 | 5.1 |
| 1931 | 5,076 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 1930 | 4,084 | #67 | 3.6 |
| 1929 | 3,780 | #70 | 3.4 |
| 1928 | 3,382 | #76 | 2.9 |
| 1927 | 2,857 | #96 | 2.4 |
| 1926 | 2,621 | #104 | 2.2 |
| 1925 | 2,321 | #117 | 1.9 |
| 1924 | 2,074 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1923 | 1,592 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1922 | 1,304 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 1921 | 1,066 | #195 | 0.86 |
| 1920 | 875 | #219 | 0.73 |
| 1919 | 735 | #235 | 0.65 |
| 1918 | 735 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1917 | 580 | #257 | 0.54 |
| 1916 | 554 | #258 | 0.53 |
| 1915 | 423 | #285 | 0.43 |
| 1914 | 373 | #270 | 0.49 |
| 1913 | 276 | #283 | 0.44 |
| 1912 | 251 | #289 | 0.45 |
| 1911 | 192 | #282 | 0.46 |
| 1910 | 204 | #272 | 0.51 |
| 1909 | 162 | #281 | 0.47 |
| 1908 | 150 | #289 | 0.45 |
| 1907 | 115 | #323 | 0.36 |
| 1906 | 140 | #280 | 0.47 |
| 1905 | 106 | #328 | 0.36 |
| 1904 | 111 | #307 | 0.40 |
| 1903 | 93 | #321 | 0.36 |
| 1902 | 82 | #353 | 0.31 |
| 1901 | 64 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1900 | 77 | #380 | 0.26 |
| 1899 | 51 | #411 | 0.22 |
| 1898 | 58 | #408 | 0.22 |
| 1897 | 47 | #430 | 0.20 |
| 1896 | 45 | #433 | 0.19 |
| 1895 | 46 | #419 | 0.20 |
| 1894 | 33 | #502 | 0.15 |
| 1893 | 34 | #461 | 0.16 |
| 1892 | 25 | #561 | 0.12 |
| 1891 | 16 | #689 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 23 | #557 | 0.12 |
| 1889 | 13 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1888 | 14 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 17 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1886 | 15 | #598 | 0.10 |
| 1885 | 11 | #688 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 9 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 6 | #901 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 13 | #487 | 0.14 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Peggy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Peggy has been given almost only to girls: 798 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Peggy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Peggy, and how old are they?
168,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 57% of the 293,563 Americans ever recorded as Peggy. The median Peggy alive today is 72 years old; half are between 66 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 183,679 people named Peggy (183,534 women and girls, 145 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 198,374 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 32,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 110,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 21,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,310 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 582 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 252 |
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 Peggy born?
The states with the most babies named Peggy are Texas, North Carolina and Ohio, with 18% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 20,797 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 16,915 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Ohio | 14,943 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| California | 14,702 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 13,984 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Tennessee | 13,115 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 11,432 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Virginia | 10,324 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Georgia | 10,216 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Alabama | 10,201 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Peggy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Peggy is most over-represented in Tennessee: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 Peggy 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 302,416 babies since 1880, Peggy is the most given (97% of them).
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 Peggy
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 Peggy and names like it
- Compare Peggy and PeggieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sPeggy peaked in 1958.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Peggy since 1910.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Peggy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Peggy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.