Girls' name · peaked in 1974
Rebecca name popularity since 1925
731,545 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Rebecca. Half of them were born in 1976 or earlier, so the typical Rebecca is about 50 years old in 2026. Rebecca peaked in 1974 as the #10 name for girls, and it ranked #350 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 731,545
- Named Rebecca, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #350
- for girls in 2025 (872 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 729,488 girls · 2,057 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 1.63× its national share
Peak year is the year Rebecca 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.
Rebecca births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1981. Measured as a share of all babies, Rebecca peaked in 1974.
- Fastest rise: Between 1945 and 1950, Rebecca became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 392 baby girls to 1 in 182.
- Steepest fall: Between 1997 and 2002, its share of baby girls fell by 47%, from 1 in 181 to 1 in 344.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Rebecca's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Rebecca.
Decade by decade
Babies named Rebecca 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 | 5,812 | 19 | – |
| 1930s | 12,615 | 64 | #163 |
| 1940s | 45,313 | 114 | #85 |
| 1950s | 115,690 | 204 | #27 |
| 1960s | 99,462 | 288 | #41 |
| 1970s | 137,285 | 533 | #11 |
| 1980s | 136,248 | 558 | #25 |
| 1990s | 109,721 | 186 | #28 |
| 2000s | 43,741 | 84 | #81 |
| 2010s | 17,488 | 7 | #189 |
| 2020–25 | 6,113 | 0 | #350 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
28.1% of babies named Rebecca from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Rebecca is most popular
The index compares Rebecca'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 Rebecca.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 1.63× | 10,597 |
| Alaska | 1.59× | 1,741 |
| Vermont | 1.51× | 1,861 |
| New Hampshire | 1.50× | 3,475 |
| Wyoming | 1.43× | 1,427 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Rebecca 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rebecca (this page) | 729,488 | 1974 |
| Rebeca | 13,980 | 2003 |
| Rebecka | 3,319 | 1993 |
| Rebbecca | 2,281 | 1975 |
| Rebeccah | 1,571 | 1991 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Rebecca's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Rebecca.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Rebecca (1974).
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