Girls' name · since 1898
Vanilla
199 babies named Vanilla in U.S. Social Security records since 1898, with the highest year being 1919. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #19,883 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 199
- born since 1898
- 1920s
- peak decade
Vanilla sits outside today's top ranks for girls, with 199 recorded since 1898.
Vanilla has 199 recorded births among girls since 1898, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1898 to 1978.
- #19,883 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 199 born since 1898
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Vanilla ranks #19,883 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 199 born since 1898, peaking in the 1920s.
- #19,883 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 199
- born since 1898
- 1920s
- peak decade
Vanilla's 199 recorded births place it above 72.5% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Vanilla's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Vanilla's full recorded timeline at 1928, 46% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 54% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1898, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1919 peak of 15 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Vanilla popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1898–1978
- Peak year (1919)
- 15
- Annual births at peak, across 81 years of records
Vanilla by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (69 births, 35% of the file).
1920s was Vanilla's strongest decade.
69 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 35% of all-time use.
Vanilla births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 5
1890s
5 births
- 1910s
1910s
40 births
- 1920s
1920s
69 births
- 1930s
1930s
52 births
- 1940s 5
1940s
5 births
- 1950s 11
1950s
11 births
- 1960s 12
1960s
12 births
- 1970s 5
1970s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 69 births (35% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Vanilla? ▼
Where does Vanilla sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Vanilla most popular? ▼
How long has the name Vanilla been used? ▼
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What to do with Vanilla's data
- Vanilla's decade-level peak was the 1920s (69 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1970s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Vanilla
Nearby Names Like Vanilla
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Vanilla
Compare Vanilla side by side: Vanilla vs Vanessa Vanilla vs Vanesa Vanilla vs Vannessa
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Vanilla: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1919)
Similar record span (~80 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1898–1978 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Vanilla draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.