Santa
Santa was given to 13 girls in 2025, #8,265 among girls’ names; 4,410 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,280 Americans named Santa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 40 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Santa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Santa mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Santa is “a female given name from Italian.”
/ˈsæntə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Santa?
#8,265 among girls’ names, 2025
Santa rose from #10,036 in 2015 to #8,265 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 6.2 to 8.1 per million.
90 babies in 1915, the peak
Santa peaked in 1915, when 90 babies were given it (85 girls, #723 among girls’ names). The 13 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #8,265 | 8.1 |
| 2024 | 24 | #5,419 | 14.8 |
| 2023 | 12 | #8,888 | 7.5 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,564 | 6.7 |
| 2021 | 5 | #17,262 | 3.0 |
| 2020 | 9 | #10,945 | 5.6 |
| 2019 | 8 | #12,249 | 4.8 |
| 2018 | 9 | #11,282 | 5.3 |
| 2017 | 11 | #9,823 | 6.4 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,716 | 5.6 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 11 | #10,036 | 6.2 |
| 2014 | 6 | #16,176 | 3.4 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,512 | 6.8 |
| 2012 | 11 | #10,314 | 6.2 |
| 2011 | 9 | #11,979 | 5.1 |
| 2010 | 10 | #11,099 | 5.6 |
| 2009 | 12 | #9,874 | 6.5 |
| 2008 | 15 | #8,452 | 7.9 |
| 2007 | 11 | #10,692 | 5.7 |
| 2006 | 20 | #6,561 | 10.5 |
| 2005 | 11 | #9,995 | 6.0 |
| 2004 | 9 | #11,444 | 4.9 |
| 2003 | 6 | #15,392 | 3.3 |
| 2002 | 14 | #7,746 | 7.8 |
| 2001 | 10 | #9,953 | 5.6 |
| 2000 | 5 | #17,085 | 2.8 |
| 1999 | 14 | #7,153 | 7.9 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,312 | 11.3 |
| 1997 | 19 | #5,366 | 10.9 |
| 1996 | 27 | #4,027 | 15.4 |
| 1995 | 21 | #4,808 | 11.9 |
| 1994 | 24 | #4,348 | 13.4 |
| 1993 | 22 | #4,635 | 12.2 |
| 1992 | 24 | #4,344 | 13.0 |
| 1991 | 24 | #4,302 | 12.8 |
| 1990 | 21 | #4,651 | 11.1 |
| 1989 | 20 | #4,638 | 10.8 |
| 1988 | 18 | #4,804 | 10.1 |
| 1987 | 22 | #3,955 | 12.7 |
| 1986 | 24 | #3,617 | 14.0 |
| 1985 | 28 | #3,222 | 16.3 |
| 1984 | 27 | #3,214 | 16.0 |
| 1983 | 35 | #2,583 | 21.0 |
| 1982 | 29 | #3,074 | 17.1 |
| 1981 | 30 | #2,971 | 18.0 |
| 1980 | 43 | #2,302 | 25.9 |
| 1979 | 56 | #1,895 | 34.9 |
| 1978 | 45 | #2,116 | 29.4 |
| 1977 | 36 | #2,455 | 23.5 |
| 1976 | 45 | #1,989 | 30.7 |
| 1975 | 41 | #2,127 | 28.1 |
| 1974 | 38 | #2,165 | 25.9 |
| 1973 | 44 | #1,907 | 30.2 |
| 1972 | 43 | #1,937 | 28.3 |
| 1971 | 41 | #2,052 | 24.6 |
| 1970 | 50 | #1,799 | 28.6 |
| 1969 | 52 | #1,680 | 30.8 |
| 1968 | 38 | #1,968 | 23.2 |
| 1967 | 39 | #1,902 | 23.6 |
| 1966 | 44 | #1,711 | 26.0 |
| 1965 | 46 | #1,667 | 26.1 |
| 1964 | 44 | #1,774 | 23.2 |
| 1963 | 34 | #2,050 | 17.6 |
| 1962 | 44 | #1,727 | 22.4 |
| 1961 | 60 | #1,448 | 29.7 |
| 1960 | 52 | #1,553 | 25.7 |
| 1959 | 32 | #2,010 | 15.8 |
| 1958 | 47 | #1,572 | 23.4 |
| 1957 | 56 | #1,420 | 27.4 |
| 1956 | 44 | #1,611 | 21.9 |
| 1955 | 50 | #1,438 | 25.6 |
| 1954 | 62 | #1,265 | 31.9 |
| 1953 | 39 | #1,583 | 20.7 |
| 1952 | 44 | #1,466 | 23.7 |
| 1951 | 48 | #1,354 | 26.7 |
| 1950 | 55 | #1,246 | 32.1 |
| 1949 | 42 | #1,433 | 24.5 |
| 1948 | 49 | #1,323 | 28.9 |
| 1947 | 44 | #1,408 | 24.8 |
| 1946 | 35 | #1,500 | 22.3 |
| 1945 | 44 | #1,208 | 33.7 |
| 1944 | 27 | #1,600 | 20.3 |
| 1943 | 32 | #1,488 | 22.9 |
| 1942 | 47 | #1,160 | 34.8 |
| 1941 | 30 | #1,442 | 24.8 |
| 1940 | 31 | #1,370 | 27.1 |
| 1939 | 37 | #1,216 | 33.7 |
| 1938 | 41 | #1,138 | 37.2 |
| 1937 | 41 | #1,130 | 38.5 |
| 1936 | 48 | #1,001 | 46.1 |
| 1935 | 32 | #1,299 | 30.5 |
| 1934 | 48 | #1,003 | 46.0 |
| 1933 | 48 | #1,007 | 47.6 |
| 1932 | 36 | #1,209 | 33.7 |
| 1931 | 54 | #952 | 50.7 |
| 1930 | 68 | #878 | 60.4 |
| 1929 | 54 | #991 | 48.4 |
| 1928 | 66 | #915 | 57.2 |
| 1927 | 71 | #891 | 59.5 |
| 1926 | 70 | #892 | 59.1 |
| 1925 | 82 | #826 | 67.4 |
| 1924 | 88 | #795 | 70.5 |
| 1923 | 89 | #778 | 73.8 |
| 1922 | 70 | #878 | 58.3 |
| 1921 | 74 | #860 | 60.0 |
| 1920 | 71 | #864 | 59.3 |
| 1919 | 74 | #820 | 65.5 |
| 1918 | 66 | #884 | 57.0 |
| 1917 | 74 | #806 | 68.4 |
| 1916 | 88 | #728 | 84.3 |
| 1915 | 85 | #723 | 86.4 |
| 1914 | 59 | #757 | 77.5 |
| 1913 | 40 | #838 | 64.0 |
| 1912 | 26 | #1,027 | 46.6 |
| 1911 | 26 | #849 | 62.2 |
| 1910 | 18 | #1,059 | 45.4 |
| 1909 | 13 | #1,202 | 37.4 |
| 1908 | 20 | #909 | 59.8 |
| 1907 | 15 | #1,029 | 47.1 |
| 1906 | 5 | #2,178 | 16.9 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,518 | 27.4 |
| 1904 | 16 | #931 | 58.1 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,644 | 25.1 |
| 1900 | 5 | #2,185 | 16.7 |
| 1899 | 6 | #1,565 | 25.7 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,558 | 25.2 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Santa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Santa has been given almost only to girls: 40 boys in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Santa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Santa, and how old are they?
2,280 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 4,410 Americans ever recorded as Santa. The median Santa alive today is 56 years old; half are between 40 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 10,149 people named Santa (9,668 women and girls, 481 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,473 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4.1 times 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 | 207 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 690 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 655 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 385 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 194 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 140 |
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 Santa born?
The states with the most babies named Santa are New York, Texas and California, with 83% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,251 | not ranked | 3.4× |
| Texas | 672 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| California | 161 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 116 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| New Jersey | 106 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 96 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 95 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 10 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Connecticut | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Santa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Santa is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 3.4 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 Santa 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 4 names spelled alike, given to 4,973 babies since 1880, Santa is the most given (89% of them).
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 Santa
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 Santa and names like it
- Compare Santa and SantiaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sSanta peaked in 1915.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Santa since 1910.
- Italian namesWiktionary’s origin for Santa: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1915The year the most babies were named Santa.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Santa alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.