Sibyl
Sibyl was given to 23 girls in 2025, #5,536 among girls’ names; 4,464 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,240 Americans named Sibyl and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 48 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sibyl by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sibyl mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sibyl is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “sibyl” (Σίβυλλα).
Latin Sibylla, Ancient Greek Σίβυλλα (Síbulla, “sibyl”), name of ancient Greek prophetesses.
/ˈsɪ.bəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sibyl?
#5,536 among girls’ names, 2025
Sibyl rose from #9,409 in 2015 to #5,536 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 6.7 to 14.3 per million.
299 babies in 1918, the peak
Sibyl peaked in 1918, when 299 girls were given it, #380 among girls’ names. The 23 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #5,536 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 11 | #9,472 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 15 | #7,582 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 16 | #7,240 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 14 | #7,972 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 15 | #7,518 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 18 | #6,661 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 15 | #7,712 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 9 | #11,489 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #6,632 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (124)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | #9,409 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 16 | #7,588 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 9 | #11,840 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 6 | #16,824 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 6 | #13,475 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 5 | #15,533 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 5 | #15,421 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 8 | #10,337 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 6 | #12,149 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 8 | #9,121 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 7 | #9,408 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 6 | #10,495 | under 0.01 |
| 1984 | 8 | #8,046 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,863 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 13 | #5,490 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 9 | #7,316 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 16 | #4,708 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 12 | #5,713 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 11 | #5,906 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 14 | #4,897 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,935 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 19 | #3,618 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 20 | #3,410 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 22 | #3,101 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 12 | #4,760 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 11 | #5,074 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,420 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 16 | #3,598 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 17 | #3,290 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 21 | #2,772 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 37 | #1,909 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 33 | #2,059 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 29 | #2,298 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 28 | #2,293 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 34 | #2,018 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 31 | #2,143 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 22 | #2,637 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 30 | #2,101 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 37 | #1,813 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 43 | #1,649 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 36 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 30 | #1,973 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 31 | #1,906 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 46 | #1,455 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 35 | #1,675 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 25 | #2,011 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 37 | #1,548 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 27 | #1,872 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 36 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 27 | #1,891 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 26 | #1,804 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 28 | #1,578 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 29 | #1,539 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 30 | #1,550 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 38 | #1,323 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 43 | #1,148 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 48 | #1,044 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 35 | #1,261 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 40 | #1,157 | 0.04 |
| 1937 | 40 | #1,142 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 42 | #1,095 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 40 | #1,116 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 38 | #1,163 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 32 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 42 | #1,113 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 42 | #1,102 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 43 | #1,140 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 63 | #908 | 0.06 |
| 1928 | 65 | #923 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 63 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 57 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 87 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 100 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 111 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 115 | #684 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 151 | #590 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 188 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1919 | 299 | #376 | 0.26 |
| 1918 | 299 | #380 | 0.26 |
| 1917 | 118 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1916 | 103 | #675 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 110 | #628 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 62 | #735 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 58 | #688 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 48 | #728 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 30 | #799 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 32 | #766 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 22 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1908 | 23 | #826 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 31 | #687 | 0.10 |
| 1906 | 30 | #675 | 0.10 |
| 1905 | 25 | #729 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 29 | #652 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 21 | #756 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 34 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1901 | 20 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 35 | #602 | 0.12 |
| 1899 | 23 | #662 | 0.10 |
| 1898 | 24 | #675 | 0.09 |
| 1897 | 22 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1896 | 25 | #631 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 22 | #681 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 16 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 10 | #1,011 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 17 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 7 | #1,194 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,084 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 8 | #1,014 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 11 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,137 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 13 | #655 | 0.09 |
| 1882 | 6 | #888 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 9 | #620 | 0.10 |
| 1880 | 5 | #929 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sibyl a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sibyl has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 124 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Sibyl: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sibyl, and how old are they?
1,240 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 4,464 Americans ever recorded as Sibyl. The median Sibyl alive today is 64 years old; half are between 48 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 1,420 people named Sibyl (1,413 women and girls, 7 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,385 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 199 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 473 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 274 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 79 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 12 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 191 |
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 Sibyl born?
The states with the most babies named Sibyl are Texas, Arkansas and Georgia, with 47% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Arkansas is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 385 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Arkansas | 189 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| Georgia | 131 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Alabama | 127 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Oklahoma | 104 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Kentucky | 88 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Mississippi | 87 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 84 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 53 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Missouri | 49 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Sibyl is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sibyl is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 2.8 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 Sibyl 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 26,047 babies since 1880, Sibyl is the second most given (17% of them). In 2025 it was given to 23 of their 180 babies (13%), again the second 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 Sibyl
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 Sibyl and names like it
- Compare Sibyl and SybilBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sSibyl peaked in 1918.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sibyl since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Sibyl: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Sibyl.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Sibyl alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.