Prudence
Prudence was given to 89 girls in 2025, #2,113 among girls’ names; 6,256 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,610 Americans named Prudence and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (58% of everyone recorded); the median is 50 years old and half are between 11 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Prudence by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Prudence mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Prudence is “a female given name from English, one of the Puritan virtue names.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Prudence?
#2,113 among girls’ names, 2025
Prudence rose from #2,613 in 2015 to #2,113 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 38.7 to 55.4 per million.
140 babies in 1943, the peak
Prudence peaked in 1943, when 140 girls were given it, #644 among girls’ names. The 89 births of 2025 are 64% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89 | #2,113 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 68 | #2,602 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 79 | #2,331 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 99 | #1,986 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 71 | #2,504 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 84 | #2,167 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 109 | #1,858 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 96 | #2,044 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 96 | #2,051 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 81 | #2,341 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 69 | #2,613 | 0.04 |
| 2014 | 61 | #2,834 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 78 | #2,361 | 0.04 |
| 2012 | 53 | #3,158 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 82 | #2,292 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 60 | #2,893 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 55 | #3,119 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 36 | #4,334 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 30 | #4,912 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 31 | #4,658 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 24 | #5,390 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 22 | #5,702 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 17 | #6,815 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,352 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 10 | #9,917 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,701 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 7 | #12,062 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 7 | #11,761 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 6 | #13,035 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 12 | #7,393 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 8 | #10,269 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 5 | #15,138 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 7 | #11,365 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 10 | #8,421 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,901 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 8 | #9,410 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 6 | #11,351 | under 0.01 |
| 1987 | 8 | #8,527 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 14 | #5,381 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 12 | #5,941 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,868 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 13 | #5,367 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 17 | #4,480 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 19 | #4,119 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 14 | #5,157 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 32 | #2,780 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 22 | #3,470 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 25 | #3,148 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 47 | #1,929 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 48 | #1,895 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 47 | #1,871 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 71 | #1,396 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 77 | #1,322 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 104 | #1,130 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 64 | #1,540 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 26 | #2,628 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 25 | #2,525 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 32 | #2,107 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 35 | #1,974 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 36 | #1,944 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 36 | #1,999 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 42 | #1,807 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 44 | #1,725 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 36 | #1,944 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 38 | #1,848 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 43 | #1,688 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 33 | #1,930 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 54 | #1,449 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 59 | #1,359 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 48 | #1,475 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 55 | #1,362 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 66 | #1,196 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 64 | #1,191 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 65 | #1,167 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 64 | #1,159 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 76 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1948 | 86 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 103 | #865 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 102 | #822 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 96 | #766 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 110 | #724 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 140 | #644 | 0.10 |
| 1942 | 106 | #731 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 68 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 65 | #892 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 69 | #847 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 66 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 57 | #918 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 51 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 56 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 46 | #1,032 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 49 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 49 | #1,012 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 46 | #1,039 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 58 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1929 | 51 | #1,027 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 51 | #1,059 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 75 | #855 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 66 | #923 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 84 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 63 | #969 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 57 | #1,004 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 58 | #986 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 55 | #1,016 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 74 | #844 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 55 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 67 | #878 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 74 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 58 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 42 | #1,037 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 29 | #1,142 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 40 | #837 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 39 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 22 | #951 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 18 | #1,057 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 30 | #744 | 0.09 |
| 1908 | 17 | #999 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 25 | #758 | 0.08 |
| 1906 | 22 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1905 | 17 | #918 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 19 | #849 | 0.07 |
| 1903 | 19 | #806 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 22 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 18 | #792 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 28 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 16 | #827 | 0.07 |
| 1898 | 27 | #629 | 0.10 |
| 1897 | 12 | #970 | 0.05 |
| 1896 | 17 | #809 | 0.07 |
| 1895 | 14 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 21 | #658 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 22 | #625 | 0.10 |
| 1892 | 16 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 15 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 19 | #614 | 0.10 |
| 1889 | 17 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 20 | #567 | 0.11 |
| 1887 | 10 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 19 | #525 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 14 | #604 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 8 | #840 | 0.06 |
| 1883 | 11 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 7 | #796 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 9 | #617 | 0.10 |
| 1880 | 17 | #415 | 0.19 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Prudence a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Prudence has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 145 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Prudence: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Prudence, and how old are they?
3,610 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 58% of the 6,256 Americans ever recorded as Prudence. The median Prudence alive today is 50 years old; half are between 11 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 3,983 people named Prudence (3,952 women and girls, 31 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,500 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 430 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 834 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 654 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 155 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 455 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,070 |
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 Prudence born?
The states with the most babies named Prudence are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 55% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 583 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 215 | #3,420 | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 189 | #1,204 | 0.5× |
| Massachusetts | 141 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 135 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 111 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 101 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Texas | 85 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Indiana | 43 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Wisconsin | 24 | not ranked | 0.2× |
Where Prudence is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Prudence is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 Prudence with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Prudence
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 Prudence and names like it
- Compare Prudence and GeorgianaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sPrudence peaked in 1943.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Prudence since 1910.
- The top names of 1943The year the most babies were named Prudence.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Prudence alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with PMost given first.