Ursula
Ursula was given to 29 girls in 2025, #4,746 among girls’ names; 14,811 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,370 Americans named Ursula and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 44 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ursula by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ursula mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ursula is “a female given name from Latin.”
From Latin Ursula, the name of a fourth century saint. Via Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos cognate with Arcady.
/ˈɝ.sə.lə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ursula?
#4,746 among girls’ names, 2025
Ursula fell from #3,755 in 2015 to #4,746 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 23.0 to 18.0 per million.
400 babies in 1967, the peak
Ursula peaked in 1967, when 400 girls were given it, #474 among girls’ names. The 29 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29 | #4,746 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 25 | #5,279 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 39 | #3,904 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 25 | #5,291 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 34 | #4,231 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 28 | #4,745 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 23 | #5,599 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 29 | #4,760 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 33 | #4,375 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 30 | #4,725 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 41 | #3,755 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 24 | #5,618 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 30 | #4,743 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 27 | #5,244 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 26 | #5,346 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 32 | #4,600 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 39 | #4,008 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 24 | #5,941 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 38 | #4,123 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 30 | #4,800 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 26 | #5,103 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 34 | #4,163 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 47 | #3,180 | 0.03 |
| 2002 | 31 | #4,171 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 44 | #3,190 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 44 | #3,160 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 52 | #2,696 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 66 | #2,184 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 39 | #3,096 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 37 | #3,228 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 49 | #2,581 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 62 | #2,182 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 47 | #2,632 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 62 | #2,183 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 80 | #1,800 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 97 | #1,572 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 106 | #1,409 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 128 | #1,185 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 130 | #1,144 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 127 | #1,140 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 131 | #1,108 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 132 | #1,066 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 148 | #987 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 160 | #937 | 0.09 |
| 1981 | 170 | #890 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 166 | #912 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 181 | #861 | 0.11 |
| 1978 | 179 | #834 | 0.12 |
| 1977 | 217 | #716 | 0.14 |
| 1976 | 230 | #668 | 0.16 |
| 1975 | 261 | #609 | 0.18 |
| 1974 | 268 | #592 | 0.18 |
| 1973 | 297 | #554 | 0.20 |
| 1972 | 377 | #477 | 0.25 |
| 1971 | 395 | #487 | 0.24 |
| 1970 | 335 | #555 | 0.19 |
| 1969 | 384 | #497 | 0.23 |
| 1968 | 354 | #514 | 0.22 |
| 1967 | 400 | #474 | 0.24 |
| 1966 | 368 | #488 | 0.22 |
| 1965 | 355 | #505 | 0.20 |
| 1964 | 236 | #666 | 0.12 |
| 1963 | 203 | #719 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 194 | #741 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 182 | #780 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 134 | #919 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 119 | #968 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 121 | #939 | 0.06 |
| 1957 | 109 | #1,000 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 134 | #866 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 144 | #807 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 119 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 89 | #1,024 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 93 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 82 | #1,029 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 77 | #1,051 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 68 | #1,102 | 0.04 |
| 1948 | 65 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1947 | 87 | #956 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 72 | #995 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 78 | #855 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 85 | #832 | 0.06 |
| 1943 | 71 | #934 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 83 | #843 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 90 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 86 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 108 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1938 | 104 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 100 | #682 | 0.09 |
| 1936 | 114 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 115 | #610 | 0.11 |
| 1934 | 107 | #651 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 132 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1932 | 101 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 104 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1930 | 141 | #578 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 127 | #608 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 122 | #641 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 131 | #626 | 0.11 |
| 1926 | 122 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 144 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1924 | 152 | #609 | 0.12 |
| 1923 | 181 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1922 | 159 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1921 | 143 | #611 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 160 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1919 | 142 | #592 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 155 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1917 | 135 | #589 | 0.12 |
| 1916 | 147 | #550 | 0.14 |
| 1915 | 144 | #525 | 0.15 |
| 1914 | 119 | #514 | 0.16 |
| 1913 | 99 | #511 | 0.16 |
| 1912 | 79 | #552 | 0.14 |
| 1911 | 66 | #514 | 0.16 |
| 1910 | 55 | #559 | 0.14 |
| 1909 | 61 | #482 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 48 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1907 | 42 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 55 | #462 | 0.19 |
| 1905 | 50 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1904 | 37 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 46 | #477 | 0.18 |
| 1902 | 35 | #558 | 0.13 |
| 1901 | 45 | #447 | 0.19 |
| 1900 | 41 | #530 | 0.14 |
| 1899 | 29 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 40 | #490 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 32 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1896 | 31 | #549 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 39 | #470 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 22 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 18 | #710 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 21 | #635 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 21 | #587 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 26 | #523 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 18 | #619 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 14 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1887 | 20 | #510 | 0.14 |
| 1886 | 19 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 19 | #499 | 0.14 |
| 1884 | 9 | #785 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 7 | #814 | 0.06 |
| 1882 | 9 | #672 | 0.08 |
| 1881 | 6 | #821 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Ursula a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ursula 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 Ursula: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ursula, and how old are they?
9,370 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 14,811 Americans ever recorded as Ursula. The median Ursula alive today is 55 years old; half are between 44 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 17,672 people named Ursula (17,650 women and girls, 22 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,887 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 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 | 503 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,860 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,620 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 592 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 388 |
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 Ursula born?
The states with the most babies named Ursula are New York, California and Texas, with 39% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,676 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| California | 1,174 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 842 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 757 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 670 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Louisiana | 597 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Ohio | 529 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 433 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 407 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 336 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Ursula is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ursula is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Ursula 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 14,903 babies since 1880, Ursula is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 29 of their 29 babies (100%), again the 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 Ursula
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 Ursula and names like it
- Compare Ursula and UrsalaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sUrsula peaked in 1967.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ursula since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Ursula: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1967The year the most babies were named Ursula.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Ursula alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with UMost given first.