Popularity of the name Patricia, 1884–2025
Patricia was at its most popular in 1951, when 56,446 girls were given the name: about 1 in 32 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #3. In 2025, 167 girls were named Patricia, ranking #1,334. In all, Social Security counts 1,573,623 girls named Patricia since 1884. Social Security’s records also list 4,961 boys named Patricia.
- Peak year
- 1951
- Rank in 1951
- #3
- Babies in 1951
- 56,446
- Rank in 2025
- #1,334
- Total since 1884
- 1,573,623
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #802 in 2015 to #1,334 in 2025: 351 girls got it in 2015, and 167 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1950s, when 459,681 girls were named Patricia, #3 for the decade. It ranked #888 in the 1880s and #1,196 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 87 in 1900 (#360), 2,502 in 1920 (#104), 32,665 in 1940 (#3), 32,113 in 1960 (#7), 5,310 in 1980 (#51), 1,393 in 2000 (#226) and 217 in 2020 (#1,116).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 56,446, in 1951. Its best rank in any year was #3, first reached in 1937.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1884 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Patricia, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1884 | 6 | #930 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,047 |
| 1886 | 8 | #828 |
| 1887 | 10 | #733 |
| 1888 | 12 | #753 |
| 1889 | 17 | #620 |
| 1890 | 11 | #825 |
| 1891 | 12 | #796 |
| 1892 | 21 | #616 |
| 1893 | 28 | #520 |
| 1894 | 36 | #463 |
| 1895 | 35 | #493 |
| 1896 | 37 | #478 |
| 1897 | 49 | #419 |
| 1898 | 46 | #448 |
| 1899 | 55 | #389 |
| 1900 | 87 | #360 |
| 1901 | 68 | #364 |
| 1902 | 85 | #344 |
| 1903 | 79 | #355 |
| 1904 | 124 | #286 |
| 1905 | 121 | #306 |
| 1906 | 157 | #263 |
| 1907 | 177 | #260 |
| 1908 | 205 | #238 |
| 1909 | 233 | #234 |
| 1910 | 316 | #205 |
| 1911 | 325 | #218 |
| 1912 | 504 | #195 |
| 1913 | 588 | #190 |
| 1914 | 656 | #201 |
| 1915 | 895 | #189 |
| 1916 | 1,078 | #174 |
| 1917 | 1,441 | #146 |
| 1918 | 1,760 | #133 |
| 1919 | 2,144 | #114 |
| 1920 | 2,502 | #104 |
| 1921 | 3,380 | #84 |
| 1922 | 3,902 | #68 |
| 1923 | 4,800 | #56 |
| 1924 | 6,957 | #35 |
| 1925 | 8,096 | #28 |
| 1926 | 8,586 | #23 |
| 1927 | 10,554 | #18 |
| 1928 | 12,331 | #11 |
| 1929 | 13,624 | #10 |
| 1930 | 15,751 | #7 |
| 1931 | 16,469 | #8 |
| 1932 | 17,992 | #6 |
| 1933 | 18,632 | #6 |
| 1934 | 20,844 | #6 |
| 1935 | 22,879 | #5 |
| 1936 | 23,916 | #5 |
| 1937 | 26,838 | #3 |
| 1938 | 27,560 | #3 |
| 1939 | 29,701 | #3 |
| 1940 | 32,665 | #3 |
| 1941 | 36,905 | #3 |
| 1942 | 39,465 | #3 |
| 1943 | 39,620 | #3 |
| 1944 | 36,874 | #4 |
| 1945 | 35,844 | #4 |
| 1946 | 46,297 | #3 |
| 1947 | 51,278 | #3 |
| 1948 | 46,140 | #4 |
| 1949 | 46,324 | #3 |
| 1950 | 47,944 | #3 |
| 1951 | 56,446 | #3 |
| 1952 | 53,101 | #3 |
| 1953 | 51,019 | #4 |
| 1954 | 49,149 | #4 |
| 1955 | 46,226 | #6 |
| 1956 | 43,329 | #6 |
| 1957 | 39,283 | #8 |
| 1958 | 37,961 | #5 |
| 1959 | 35,223 | #6 |
| 1960 | 32,113 | #7 |
| 1961 | 28,889 | #6 |
| 1962 | 26,532 | #6 |
| 1963 | 25,374 | #7 |
| 1964 | 26,091 | #5 |
| 1965 | 23,552 | #6 |
| 1966 | 20,112 | #7 |
| 1967 | 17,753 | #11 |
| 1968 | 15,803 | #15 |
| 1969 | 14,959 | #18 |
| 1970 | 13,406 | #24 |
| 1971 | 11,470 | #26 |
| 1972 | 9,602 | #27 |
| 1973 | 8,476 | #27 |
| 1974 | 8,036 | #29 |
| 1975 | 7,053 | #36 |
| 1976 | 6,017 | #43 |
| 1977 | 5,903 | #47 |
| 1978 | 5,498 | #48 |
| 1979 | 5,650 | #44 |
| 1980 | 5,310 | #51 |
| 1981 | 5,284 | #53 |
| 1982 | 5,168 | #59 |
| 1983 | 4,926 | #60 |
| 1984 | 4,476 | #66 |
| 1985 | 4,402 | #64 |
| 1986 | 4,246 | #66 |
| 1987 | 3,913 | #76 |
| 1988 | 3,799 | #77 |
| 1989 | 3,603 | #89 |
| 1990 | 3,579 | #97 |
| 1991 | 3,419 | #101 |
| 1992 | 2,950 | #111 |
| 1993 | 2,659 | #125 |
| 1994 | 2,363 | #135 |
| 1995 | 2,161 | #150 |
| 1996 | 1,970 | #159 |
| 1997 | 1,781 | #169 |
| 1998 | 1,704 | #180 |
| 1999 | 1,532 | #201 |
| 2000 | 1,393 | #226 |
| 2001 | 1,224 | #260 |
| 2002 | 1,115 | #280 |
| 2003 | 1,011 | #307 |
| 2004 | 998 | #317 |
| 2005 | 880 | #356 |
| 2006 | 776 | #411 |
| 2007 | 728 | #441 |
| 2008 | 630 | #498 |
| 2009 | 565 | #534 |
| 2010 | 479 | #617 |
| 2011 | 431 | #658 |
| 2012 | 396 | #710 |
| 2013 | 419 | #676 |
| 2014 | 380 | #738 |
| 2015 | 351 | #802 |
| 2016 | 387 | #736 |
| 2017 | 308 | #883 |
| 2018 | 299 | #899 |
| 2019 | 281 | #939 |
| 2020 | 217 | #1,116 |
| 2021 | 212 | #1,153 |
| 2022 | 222 | #1,114 |
| 2023 | 203 | #1,179 |
| 2024 | 179 | #1,292 |
| 2025 | 167 | #1,334 |
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.