Girls' name · since 1976
Pooja
Pooja has 1,981 recorded births since 1976 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1997 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #4,729 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 1,981
- born since 1976
- 1990s
- peak decade
Pooja is not among the current top-ranked girls names; 1,981 have been recorded since 1976.
Pooja has 1,981 recorded births among girls since 1976, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1976 to 2018.
- #4,729 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 1,981 born since 1976
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Pooja ranks #4,729 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 1,981 born since 1976, peaking in the 1990s.
- #4,729 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 1,981
- born since 1976
- 1990s
- peak decade
Pooja's 1,981 recorded births place it above 93.45% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
12 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New Jersey.
Pooja's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Pooja's full recorded timeline at 1997, 46% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 54% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2015, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1997 peak of 117 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Pooja popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1976–2018
- Peak year (1997)
- 117
- Annual births at peak, across 43 years of records
Pooja by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (957 births, 48% of the file).
1990s was Pooja's strongest decade.
957 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 48% of all-time use.
Pooja births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 68
1970s
68 births
- 1980s 369
1980s
369 births
- 1990s
1990s
957 births
- 2000s
2000s
501 births
- 2010s 86
2010s
86 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 957 births (48% of all-time use).
How Pooja 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 Pooja's total volume
Pooja by state
Where Pooja concentrates geographically, total births since 1976
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New Jersey | | 296 | 14.9% |
| #2 | California | | 261 | 13.2% |
| #3 | New York | | 189 | 9.5% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 99 | 5.0% |
| #5 | Texas | | 53 | 2.7% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 46 | 2.3% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 36 | 1.8% |
| #8 | Florida | | 17 | 0.9% |
296 of 1,981 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 12 reporting states.
Pooja appears in 12 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Pooja? ▼
Where does Pooja sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Pooja most popular? ▼
Where is Pooja most popular? ▼
How long has the name Pooja been used? ▼
What names are similar to Pooja? ▼
What to do with Pooja's data
- Pooja's decade-level peak was the 1990s (957 total births); usage has since declined to 86 in the 2010s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New Jersey records the most Poojas (296 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New Jersey names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Pooja
Nearby Names Like Pooja
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Pooja
Compare Pooja side by side: Pooja vs Poonam Pooja vs Poorvi Pooja vs Poorna
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Pooja: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1997)
Similar record span (~42 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, 1976–2018 (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 Pooja 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.