Girls' name · peaked in 1998
Sierra name popularity since 1925
100,866 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Sierra. Half of them were born in 1999 or earlier, so the typical Sierra is about 27 years old in 2026. Sierra peaked in 1998 as the #51 name for girls, and it ranked #616 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 100,866
- Named Sierra, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #616
- for girls in 2025 (476 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 100,597 girls · 269 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 3.11× its national share
Peak year is the year Sierra 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.
Sierra births per year, 1925–2025
1998 was the biggest year for Sierra both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1981 and 1986, Sierra became 8.4× more common, from 1 in 8,920 baby girls to 1 in 1,070.
- Steepest fall: Between 2002 and 2007, its share of baby girls fell by 59%, from 1 in 374 to 1 in 909.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Sierra's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Sierra.
Decade by decade
Babies named Sierra 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 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 144 | 0 | #2,442 |
| 1950s | 54 | 0 | #4,686 |
| 1960s | 81 | 0 | #5,739 |
| 1970s | 787 | 35 | #1,400 |
| 1980s | 8,846 | 67 | #216 |
| 1990s | 43,638 | 108 | #60 |
| 2000s | 34,534 | 59 | #105 |
| 2010s | 9,272 | 0 | #404 |
| 2020–25 | 3,241 | 0 | #616 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
55.2% of babies named Sierra from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Sierra is most popular
The index compares Sierra'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 Sierra.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 3.11× | 464 |
| Nevada | 3.03× | 1,082 |
| Utah | 2.26× | 1,927 |
| Idaho | 2.19× | 875 |
| Oregon | 2.09× | 1,960 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Sierra 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sierra (this page) | 100,597 | 1998 |
| Siera | 2,543 | 1996 |
| Sierrah | 1,150 | 2001 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Sierra's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Sierra.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Sierra (1998).
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