Unisex name · since 1936
Whitney
97,663 babies named Whitney in U.S. Social Security records since 1936, with the highest year being 1986. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #383 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,044 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 97,663
- born since 1936
- 1980s
- peak decade
97,663 babies have been named Whitney since 1936, making it today's #1044 unisex name.
Social Security Administration records show Whitney recorded 97,663 times among girls since 1936, holding rank #1044 nationally today, ahead of 94% of girls, peaking in the 1980s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1936 to 2025.
- #383 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,044 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 97,663 born since 1936
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Whitney ranks #383 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,044 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 97,663 born since 1936, peaking in the 1980s.
- #383 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,044 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 97,663
- born since 1936
- 1980s
- peak decade
Whitney's 97,663 recorded births place it above 99.47% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Whitney compares
97,663 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Whitney's all-time total is 260x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Whitney | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 97,663 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 9,536 | 21 | 19,840 |
Whitney's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Whitney's full recorded timeline at 1981, 91% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 9% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1939, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1986 peak of 9,536 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Whitney popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1936–2025
- Peak year (1986)
- 9,536
- Annual births at peak, across 90 years of records
Whitney popularity over time - boys
5,994 total births recorded since 1884 (Whitney as boys' name)
Whitney by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (44,373 births, 45% of the file).
1980s was Whitney's strongest decade.
44,373 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 45% of all-time use.
Whitney births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1930s 30
1930s
30 births
- 1940s 95
1940s
95 births
- 1950s 122
1950s
122 births
- 1960s 2,147
1960s
2,147 births
- 1970s 5,003
1970s
5,003 births
- 1980s
1980s
44,373 births
- 1990s
1990s
32,886 births
- 2000s 7,182
2000s
7,182 births
- 2010s 4,323
2010s
4,323 births
- 2020s 1,502
2020s
1,502 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 44,373 births (45% of all-time use).
How Whitney compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Whitney's total volume
Whitney by state
Where Whitney concentrates geographically, total births since 1936
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 8,088 | 8.3% |
| #2 | California | | 6,221 | 6.4% |
| #3 | Tennessee | | 4,216 | 4.3% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 4,101 | 4.2% |
| #5 | Kentucky | | 3,942 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Florida | | 3,779 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 3,652 | 3.7% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 3,589 | 3.7% |
8,088 of 97,663 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Whitney appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Whitney? ▼
Where does Whitney sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Whitney most popular? ▼
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What to do with Whitney's data
- Whitney's decade-level peak was the 1980s (44,373 total births); usage has since declined to 1,502 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Whitneys (8,088 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Whitney
Nearby Names Like Whitney
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Whitney
Compare Whitney side by side: Whitney vs Whitley Whitney vs Whittney Whitney vs Whitlee
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Whitney
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Whitney: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1986)
Similar record span (~89 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, 1936–2025 (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 Whitney 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.