Total births
199
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.
- 199
- total births
- 1898–1978
- years on record
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 35%
- born in that 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.
- 199 total births
- 1898–1978 years on record
- 1920s peak decade
- 35% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
199 girls have been named Vanilla since 1898, peaking in the 1920s, last recorded in 1978.
- 199
- total births
- 1898–1978
- years on record
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 35%
- born in that decade
1920s
Peak decade
35% of everyone ever named Vanilla was born in this single decade.
1919
Single peak year
15 babies were named Vanilla in 1919 - its busiest year on record.
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 at a glance
Last recorded 1978Peak year
1919
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1898
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
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
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? ▼
Vanilla has been given to 199 babies in the U.S. since 1898, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 1978. 15 babies were born in 1919, its single highest year.
When was Vanilla most popular? ▼
Vanilla was most popular in the 1920s decade with 69 total births. The single peak year was 1919.
How long has the name Vanilla been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Vanilla since 1898 -- 81 years through the most recent 1978 data.
What names are similar to Vanilla? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Vanessa, Vanesa, Vannessa, Vania, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
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.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
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
Vanessa Girl
#335 261,622 births
Vanesa Girl
#5331 6,539 births
Vannessa Girl
3,231 births
Vania Girl
#2828 2,992 births
Vanita Girl
2,056 births
Compare Vanilla side by side: Vanilla vs Vanessa Vanilla vs Vanesa Vanilla vs Vannessa
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of June 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).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Vanilla: Baby Name Since 1898 - 199 Births, Peak 1919." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/vanilla. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 June 2026.