Girls' name · peaked in 1980
Meredith name popularity since 1925
79,921 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Meredith (96.1% girls, 3.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1984 or earlier, so the typical Meredith is about 42 years old in 2026. Meredith peaked in 1980 as the #140 name for girls, and it ranked #469 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 79,921
- Named Meredith, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #469
- for girls in 2025 (656 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 96.1% girls
- 76,801 girls · 3,120 boys
- Most popular in
- New Hampshire
- 2.29× its national share
Peak year is the year Meredith 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.
Meredith births per year, 1925–2025
1980 was the biggest year for Meredith both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1966 and 1971, Meredith became 4.4× more common, from 1 in 4,880 baby girls to 1 in 1,100.
- Steepest fall: Between 2006 and 2011, its share of baby girls fell by 52%, from 1 in 1,790 to 1 in 3,690.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Meredith's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Meredith.
Decade by decade
Babies named Meredith 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 | 461 | 378 | – |
| 1930s | 1,300 | 613 | #563 |
| 1940s | 2,901 | 788 | #404 |
| 1950s | 2,889 | 508 | #532 |
| 1960s | 3,927 | 306 | #512 |
| 1970s | 15,840 | 255 | #181 |
| 1980s | 19,204 | 188 | #149 |
| 1990s | 12,779 | 64 | #226 |
| 2000s | 8,889 | 15 | #367 |
| 2010s | 5,147 | 5 | #590 |
| 2020–25 | 3,464 | 0 | #469 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.5% of babies named Meredith from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Meredith is most popular
The index compares Meredith'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 Meredith.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 2.29× | 538 |
| North Carolina | 2.20× | 4,654 |
| Massachusetts | 1.95× | 3,465 |
| Rhode Island | 1.95× | 517 |
| Virginia | 1.78× | 2,999 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Meredith 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meredith (this page) | 76,801 | 1980 |
| Meridith | 2,652 | 1974 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Meredith's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Meredith.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Meredith (1980).
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