Popularity of the name Cynthia, 1880–2025
Cynthia was at its most popular in 1957, when 39,340 girls were given the name: about 1 in 52 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #7. In 2025, 247 girls were named Cynthia, ranking #1,013. In all, Social Security counts 711,453 girls named Cynthia since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 1,959 boys named Cynthia.
- Peak year
- 1957
- Rank in 1957
- #7
- Babies in 1957
- 39,340
- Rank in 2025
- #1,013
- Total since 1880
- 711,453
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #540 in 2015 to #1,013 in 2025, with 580 girls named Cynthia in 2015 and 247 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Cynthia ranked highest in the 1960s, at #10, with 196,597 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #259 in the 1880s and #873 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 61 in 1880 (#197), 87 in 1900 (#360), 285 in 1920 (#388), 1,882 in 1940 (#133), 26,706 in 1960 (#9), 4,700 in 1980 (#64), 2,038 in 2000 (#164) and 308 in 2020 (#873).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 39,340, in 1957. Its best rank, #7, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Cynthia, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 61 | #197 |
| 1881 | 47 | #227 |
| 1882 | 45 | #259 |
| 1883 | 66 | #219 |
| 1884 | 59 | #253 |
| 1885 | 59 | #259 |
| 1886 | 56 | #277 |
| 1887 | 55 | #287 |
| 1888 | 58 | #314 |
| 1889 | 76 | #273 |
| 1890 | 79 | #282 |
| 1891 | 67 | #306 |
| 1892 | 80 | #304 |
| 1893 | 73 | #315 |
| 1894 | 58 | #367 |
| 1895 | 58 | #371 |
| 1896 | 63 | #365 |
| 1897 | 80 | #328 |
| 1898 | 72 | #368 |
| 1899 | 71 | #352 |
| 1900 | 87 | #360 |
| 1901 | 67 | #368 |
| 1902 | 63 | #391 |
| 1903 | 65 | #393 |
| 1904 | 60 | #418 |
| 1905 | 63 | #426 |
| 1906 | 77 | #392 |
| 1907 | 80 | #395 |
| 1908 | 56 | #479 |
| 1909 | 76 | #421 |
| 1910 | 86 | #426 |
| 1911 | 105 | #392 |
| 1912 | 157 | #367 |
| 1913 | 165 | #374 |
| 1914 | 183 | #391 |
| 1915 | 216 | #405 |
| 1916 | 224 | #418 |
| 1917 | 240 | #407 |
| 1918 | 271 | #398 |
| 1919 | 264 | #396 |
| 1920 | 285 | #388 |
| 1921 | 295 | #389 |
| 1922 | 282 | #389 |
| 1923 | 310 | #378 |
| 1924 | 366 | #358 |
| 1925 | 340 | #371 |
| 1926 | 392 | #334 |
| 1927 | 432 | #324 |
| 1928 | 472 | #305 |
| 1929 | 487 | #297 |
| 1930 | 596 | #256 |
| 1931 | 632 | #238 |
| 1932 | 637 | #243 |
| 1933 | 772 | #218 |
| 1934 | 1,021 | #179 |
| 1935 | 990 | #179 |
| 1936 | 983 | #184 |
| 1937 | 1,181 | #170 |
| 1938 | 1,365 | #160 |
| 1939 | 1,489 | #152 |
| 1940 | 1,882 | #133 |
| 1941 | 2,296 | #112 |
| 1942 | 2,726 | #101 |
| 1943 | 2,894 | #101 |
| 1944 | 2,570 | #105 |
| 1945 | 3,127 | #90 |
| 1946 | 6,895 | #46 |
| 1947 | 10,530 | #33 |
| 1948 | 12,240 | #27 |
| 1949 | 12,901 | #27 |
| 1950 | 14,447 | #23 |
| 1951 | 16,295 | #20 |
| 1952 | 19,878 | #18 |
| 1953 | 25,140 | #12 |
| 1954 | 27,615 | #10 |
| 1955 | 27,178 | #11 |
| 1956 | 32,339 | #8 |
| 1957 | 39,340 | #7 |
| 1958 | 31,014 | #8 |
| 1959 | 30,186 | #8 |
| 1960 | 26,706 | #9 |
| 1961 | 24,393 | #8 |
| 1962 | 24,025 | #8 |
| 1963 | 21,589 | #10 |
| 1964 | 20,321 | #9 |
| 1965 | 19,239 | #9 |
| 1966 | 17,418 | #11 |
| 1967 | 15,340 | #18 |
| 1968 | 14,050 | #19 |
| 1969 | 13,516 | #23 |
| 1970 | 12,913 | #25 |
| 1971 | 12,143 | #24 |
| 1972 | 10,173 | #25 |
| 1973 | 8,743 | #26 |
| 1974 | 7,557 | #33 |
| 1975 | 6,539 | #40 |
| 1976 | 6,012 | #44 |
| 1977 | 5,782 | #48 |
| 1978 | 5,403 | #50 |
| 1979 | 4,931 | #55 |
| 1980 | 4,700 | #64 |
| 1981 | 4,859 | #59 |
| 1982 | 4,427 | #64 |
| 1983 | 4,553 | #62 |
| 1984 | 4,622 | #62 |
| 1985 | 4,129 | #66 |
| 1986 | 3,422 | #81 |
| 1987 | 3,392 | #84 |
| 1988 | 3,784 | #79 |
| 1989 | 3,778 | #84 |
| 1990 | 3,797 | #88 |
| 1991 | 3,707 | #93 |
| 1992 | 3,548 | #92 |
| 1993 | 3,383 | #95 |
| 1994 | 3,161 | #105 |
| 1995 | 2,957 | #113 |
| 1996 | 3,190 | #101 |
| 1997 | 2,714 | #117 |
| 1998 | 2,631 | #127 |
| 1999 | 2,225 | #145 |
| 2000 | 2,038 | #164 |
| 2001 | 1,921 | #169 |
| 2002 | 1,833 | #176 |
| 2003 | 1,662 | #199 |
| 2004 | 1,521 | #222 |
| 2005 | 1,574 | #221 |
| 2006 | 1,420 | #239 |
| 2007 | 1,234 | #278 |
| 2008 | 1,076 | #310 |
| 2009 | 893 | #361 |
| 2010 | 835 | #380 |
| 2011 | 733 | #428 |
| 2012 | 750 | #419 |
| 2013 | 601 | #500 |
| 2014 | 636 | #492 |
| 2015 | 580 | #540 |
| 2016 | 552 | #563 |
| 2017 | 462 | #636 |
| 2018 | 419 | #692 |
| 2019 | 378 | #746 |
| 2020 | 308 | #873 |
| 2021 | 346 | #806 |
| 2022 | 315 | #885 |
| 2023 | 308 | #871 |
| 2024 | 331 | #829 |
| 2025 | 247 | #1,013 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.