Girls' name · peaked in 1954
Deborah name popularity since 1925
742,785 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Deborah. Half of them were born in 1956 or earlier, so the typical Deborah is about 70 years old in 2026. Deborah peaked in 1954 as the #3 name for girls, and it ranked #864 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 742,785
- Named Deborah, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #864
- for girls in 2025 (313 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 741,127 girls · 1,658 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 2.01× its national share
Peak year is the year Deborah made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Deborah births per year, 1925–2025
1954 was the biggest year for Deborah both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1945 and 1950, Deborah became 15× more common, from 1 in 894 baby girls to 1 in 59.
- Steepest fall: Between 1971 and 1976, its share of baby girls fell by 61%, from 1 in 192 to 1 in 490.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Deborah's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Deborah.
Decade by decade
Babies named Deborah in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 580 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 2,808 | 6 | #378 |
| 1940s | 44,054 | 86 | #161 |
| 1950s | 430,537 | 788 | #2 |
| 1960s | 183,439 | 492 | #13 |
| 1970s | 47,855 | 215 | #86 |
| 1980s | 14,783 | 66 | #192 |
| 1990s | 7,574 | 5 | #398 |
| 2000s | 4,284 | 0 | #653 |
| 2010s | 3,429 | 0 | #804 |
| 2020–25 | 1,784 | 0 | #864 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
78.5% of babies named Deborah from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Deborah is most popular
The index compares Deborah's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Deborah.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 2.01× | 6,913 |
| Rhode Island | 1.84× | 4,859 |
| Delaware | 1.71× | 2,652 |
| Massachusetts | 1.49× | 26,456 |
| Maryland | 1.49× | 17,023 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Deborah and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Deborah (this page) | 741,127 | 1954 |
| Debora | 30,096 | 1956 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Deborah's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Deborah.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Deborah (1954).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data