Girls' name · peaked in 1966
Maria name popularity since 1925
539,882 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Maria (99.2% girls, 0.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1976 or earlier, so the typical Maria is about 50 years old in 2026. Maria peaked in 1966 as the #44 name for girls, and it ranked #87 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 539,882
- Named Maria, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #87
- for girls in 2025 (2,887 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.2% girls
- 535,825 girls · 4,057 boys
- Most popular in
- Texas
- 2.97× its national share
Peak year is the year Maria 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.
Maria births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1964. Measured as a share of all babies, Maria peaked in 1966.
- Steepest fall: Between 2006 and 2011, Maria's share of baby girls fell by 38%, from 1 in 339 to 1 in 546.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Maria's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Maria.
Decade by decade
Babies named Maria 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 | 12,401 | 189 | – |
| 1930s | 20,640 | 348 | #117 |
| 1940s | 35,571 | 305 | #86 |
| 1950s | 62,458 | 350 | #69 |
| 1960s | 88,850 | 471 | #46 |
| 1970s | 76,373 | 645 | #30 |
| 1980s | 65,778 | 936 | #52 |
| 1990s | 70,911 | 533 | #44 |
| 2000s | 57,007 | 184 | #46 |
| 2010s | 28,974 | 63 | #109 |
| 2020–25 | 16,862 | 33 | #87 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
24.0% of babies named Maria from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Maria is most popular
The index compares Maria'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 Maria.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2.97× | 126,642 |
| New Mexico | 2.55× | 7,663 |
| Arizona | 1.98× | 13,920 |
| California | 1.83× | 105,334 |
| New York | 1.38× | 56,862 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Maria 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Maria (this page) | 535,825 | 1966 |
| Mariah | 113,937 | 1996 |
| Marya | 2,147 | 1974 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Maria's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Maria.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Maria (1966).
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