Roberta — #2741 US girls' name
171,485 babies named Roberta in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1953. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 84% of names given to girls today.
22% of everyone ever named Roberta was born in this single decade.
4,299 babies were named Roberta in 1953 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Roberta
The Social Security Administration has registered 171,485 babies named Roberta between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Roberta currently holds the #2741 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1953, when 4,299 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Roberta performed strongest in the 1940s, accumulating 38,050 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Roberta shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 15,804 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Roberta in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Roberta in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 171,485 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Roberta at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Roberta popularity over time — girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1953)
- 4,299
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #2741 among girls.
171,485 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1953 with 4,299 births in a single year.
Roberta popularity over time — boys
782 total births recorded since 1914 (Roberta as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Roberta accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Roberta by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- 38,050 births that decade — 22% of Roberta's all-time total
Roberta decade highlights
- Peak decade 38,050 births
- Runner-up 37,915 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1940s was Roberta's strongest decade
38,050 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 22% of all-time use.
Roberta by state
Where Roberta concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 15,804 | 9.2% |
| #2 | California | | 14,209 | 8.3% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 11,712 | 6.8% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 11,033 | 6.4% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 10,805 | 6.3% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 6,701 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Massachusetts | | 6,238 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 5,218 | 3.0% |
15,804 of 171,485 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 9.2% of nationwide
- California 8.3% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 6.8% of nationwide
- Illinois 6.4% of nationwide
- Ohio 6.3% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 9.2% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Roberta appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.