Penny
Penny was given to 368 girls in 2025, #740 among girls’ names; 101,003 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 83,000 Americans named Penny and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (82% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 56 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Penny by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Penny mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Penny is “a diminutive of the female given name Penelope.”
/ˈpɛni/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Penny?
#740 among girls’ names, 2025
Penny rose from #759 in 2015 to #740 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.21 to 0.23 per 1,000.
5,143 babies in 1963, the peak
Penny peaked in 1963, when 5,143 babies were given it (5,129 girls, #86 among girls’ names). The 368 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 368 | #740 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 377 | #748 | 0.23 |
| 2023 | 434 | #676 | 0.27 |
| 2022 | 402 | #728 | 0.25 |
| 2021 | 409 | #707 | 0.25 |
| 2020 | 383 | #727 | 0.24 |
| 2019 | 362 | #770 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 363 | #752 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 361 | #769 | 0.21 |
| 2016 | 419 | #693 | 0.24 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 372 | #759 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 345 | #809 | 0.19 |
| 2013 | 251 | #997 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 233 | #1,074 | 0.13 |
| 2011 | 165 | #1,391 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 153 | #1,478 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 105 | #1,987 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 90 | #2,216 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 80 | #2,385 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 60 | #2,907 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 51 | #3,112 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 53 | #2,984 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,328 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 49 | #2,999 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 38 | #3,524 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 53 | #2,765 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 54 | #2,630 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 58 | #2,420 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 63 | #2,188 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 62 | #2,200 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 64 | #2,113 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 80 | #1,802 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 88 | #1,700 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 91 | #1,668 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 102 | #1,526 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 121 | #1,328 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 158 | #1,070 | 0.09 |
| 1988 | 151 | #1,056 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 171 | #948 | 0.10 |
| 1986 | 210 | #801 | 0.12 |
| 1985 | 270 | #671 | 0.16 |
| 1984 | 280 | #632 | 0.17 |
| 1983 | 295 | #602 | 0.18 |
| 1982 | 379 | #523 | 0.22 |
| 1981 | 482 | #445 | 0.29 |
| 1980 | 555 | #407 | 0.33 |
| 1979 | 697 | #339 | 0.43 |
| 1978 | 750 | #311 | 0.49 |
| 1977 | 856 | #279 | 0.56 |
| 1976 | 870 | #268 | 0.59 |
| 1975 | 1,027 | #235 | 0.70 |
| 1974 | 1,174 | #219 | 0.80 |
| 1973 | 1,471 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1972 | 1,587 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | 2,001 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1970 | 2,145 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1969 | 2,360 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1968 | 2,576 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 1967 | 2,811 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 1966 | 3,109 | #112 | 1.8 |
| 1965 | 3,898 | #97 | 2.2 |
| 1964 | 4,396 | #96 | 2.3 |
| 1963 | 5,129 | #86 | 2.7 |
| 1962 | 5,001 | #92 | 2.5 |
| 1961 | 4,638 | #101 | 2.3 |
| 1960 | 4,302 | #113 | 2.1 |
| 1959 | 3,756 | #122 | 1.9 |
| 1958 | 3,556 | #124 | 1.8 |
| 1957 | 3,044 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1956 | 2,348 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1955 | 2,213 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1954 | 2,134 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1953 | 2,153 | #157 | 1.1 |
| 1952 | 2,091 | #157 | 1.1 |
| 1951 | 2,077 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1950 | 1,751 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1949 | 1,846 | #158 | 1.1 |
| 1948 | 1,861 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1947 | 2,101 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 1,645 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 1945 | 1,131 | #183 | 0.87 |
| 1944 | 1,204 | #180 | 0.91 |
| 1943 | 1,203 | #184 | 0.86 |
| 1942 | 992 | #205 | 0.73 |
| 1941 | 637 | #254 | 0.53 |
| 1940 | 493 | #282 | 0.43 |
| 1939 | 380 | #318 | 0.35 |
| 1938 | 234 | #441 | 0.21 |
| 1937 | 165 | #513 | 0.16 |
| 1936 | 100 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1935 | 74 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 51 | #972 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 40 | #1,120 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 24 | #1,592 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 30 | #1,369 | 0.03 |
| 1930 | 30 | #1,426 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 38 | #1,218 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 51 | #1,058 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 47 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 52 | #1,044 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 69 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 52 | #1,094 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 68 | #894 | 0.06 |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,534 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 34 | #1,402 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,655 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 32 | #1,389 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 21 | #1,869 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 15 | #2,289 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,787 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,356 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,991 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 11 | #1,997 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 9 | #2,105 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,784 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,095 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,472 | 0.01 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,816 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 6 | #2,005 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 5 | #2,164 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,508 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 7 | #1,622 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,437 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 5 | #2,163 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,785 | 0.02 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,479 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,738 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,414 | 0.03 |
| 1890 | 6 | #1,312 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,250 | 0.03 |
| 1882 | 5 | #1,003 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Penny a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Penny has been given almost only to girls: 384 boys in 131 years of records.
Girls and boys named Penny: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Penny, and how old are they?
83,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 82% of the 101,003 Americans ever recorded as Penny. The median Penny alive today is 63 years old; half are between 56 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 81,497 people named Penny (81,287 women and girls, 210 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 85,978 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,280 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 45,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 25,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,910 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,340 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,820 |
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 Penny born?
The states with the most babies named Penny are California, Ohio and Illinois, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,582 | #853 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 6,596 | #706 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 5,882 | #991 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 5,723 | #678 | 1.3× |
| New York | 5,654 | #1,017 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 4,969 | #1,214 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 4,492 | #993 | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 4,422 | #640 | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 3,272 | #889 | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 2,839 | #640 | 1.3× |
Where Penny is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Penny is most over-represented in Vermont: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Penny 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 113,240 babies since 1880, Penny is the most given (89% of them). In 2025 it was given to 368 of their 403 babies (91%), 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 Penny
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 Penny and names like it
- Compare Penny and PennieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sPenny peaked in 1963.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Penny since 1910.
- The top names of 1963The year the most babies were named Penny.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Penny alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with PMost given first.