Girls' name · since 1880
Penelope
109,480 babies named Penelope in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2019. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #353 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #22 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 109,480
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Penelope currently ranks #22 among girls' names in America, with 109,480 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Penelope recorded 109,480 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #22 nationally today, ahead of 99.9% of girls, peaking in the 2010s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #353 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #22 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 109,480 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Penelope ranks #353 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #22 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 109,480 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #353 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #22 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 109,480
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Penelope's 109,480 recorded births place it above 99.51% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Penelope compares
109,480 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Penelope's all-time total is 291x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Penelope | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 109,480 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 6,734 | 21 | 19,840 |
Penelope's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Penelope's SSA record in two at 1960 and the more recent half accounts for 88% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 12%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1880, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2019 peak of 6,734, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Penelope popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2019)
- 6,734
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Penelope popularity over time - boys
53 total births recorded since 2015 (Penelope as boys' name)
Penelope by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (47,614 births, 43% of the file).
2010s was Penelope's strongest decade.
47,614 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 43% of all-time use.
Penelope births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 34
1880s
34 births
- 1890s 36
1890s
36 births
- 1900s 29
1900s
29 births
- 1910s 248
1910s
248 births
- 1920s 562
1920s
562 births
- 1930s 1,109
1930s
1,109 births
- 1940s 6,383
1940s
6,383 births
- 1950s 4,758
1950s
4,758 births
- 1960s 2,871
1960s
2,871 births
- 1970s 1,750
1970s
1,750 births
- 1980s 609
1980s
609 births
- 1990s 795
1990s
795 births
- 2000s 5,677
2000s
5,677 births
- 2010s
2010s
47,614 births
- 2020s
2020s
37,005 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 47,614 births (43% of all-time use).
How Penelope 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 Penelope's total volume
Penelope by state
Where Penelope concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 16,224 | 14.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 9,934 | 9.1% |
| #3 | New York | | 7,204 | 6.6% |
| #4 | Florida | | 5,617 | 5.1% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 4,977 | 4.5% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 4,160 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 4,009 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 3,355 | 3.1% |
16,224 of 109,480 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Penelope appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Penelope? ▼
Where does Penelope sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Penelope most popular? ▼
Where is Penelope most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Penelope? ▼
What to do with Penelope's data
- Penelope's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (47,614 total births) through the 2020s (37,005) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Penelopes (16,224 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 Penelope
Nearby Names Like Penelope
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Penelope
Compare Penelope side by side: Penelope vs Penny Penelope vs Pennie Penelope vs Penni
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Penelope
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Penelope: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2019)
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 Penelope 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.