Girls' name · peaked in 1880
Mary name popularity since 1925
2,927,489 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Mary. Half of them were born in 1948 or earlier, so the typical Mary is about 78 years old in 2026. Mary peaked in 1880 as the #1 name for girls, and it ranked #125 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 2,927,489
- Named Mary, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1880
- #1 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #125
- for girls in 2025 (2,230 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 2,916,223 girls · 11,266 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 1.93× its national share
Peak year is the year Mary 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.
Mary births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Mary peaked earlier, in 1880.
- Steepest fall: Between 1964 and 1969, Mary's share of baby girls fell by 46%, from 1 in 46 to 1 in 85.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Mary's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Mary.
Decade by decade
Babies named Mary 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 | 339,443 | 1,436 | – |
| 1930s | 573,000 | 3,028 | #1 |
| 1940s | 640,080 | 2,304 | #1 |
| 1950s | 625,606 | 1,538 | #1 |
| 1960s | 355,240 | 1,346 | #2 |
| 1970s | 126,254 | 680 | #19 |
| 1980s | 95,862 | 610 | #35 |
| 1990s | 75,723 | 197 | #40 |
| 2000s | 46,337 | 106 | #72 |
| 2010s | 25,693 | 16 | #123 |
| 2020–25 | 12,985 | 5 | #125 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.5% of babies named Mary from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Mary is most popular
The index compares Mary'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 Mary.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 1.93× | 69,232 |
| Alabama | 1.73× | 90,711 |
| West Virginia | 1.63× | 42,474 |
| South Carolina | 1.59× | 66,020 |
| Kentucky | 1.55× | 76,810 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Mary 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mary (this page) | 2,916,223 | 1880 |
| Marie | 316,313 | 1899 |
| Mari | 16,359 | 1957 |
| Marry | 1,278 | 1904 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Mary's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Mary.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Mary (1880).
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