Mary

#125 for girls in 2025, 2,230 births · Last seen for boys in 2020 at #12,022
Given to girls 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1921 · 73,984 births
Debut · girls
7,065 births
In top 100 · girls
129 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
4,141,481
since 1880

Mary over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201917peak #1, 1921girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1252,230
2024#1312,219
2023#1322,085
2022#1342,119
2021#1322,102
2020#1232,230#12,0225
2019#1262,241
2018#1262,369
2017#1262,425
2016#1262,526
2015#1232,642
2014#1202,637#12,1085
2013#1182,669
2012#1212,587#10,7706
2011#1122,715
2010#1082,882#12,2315
2009#1023,177
2008#963,514
2007#933,697#7,59010
2006#804,116#7,42710
2005#724,481#7,09610
2004#624,838#3,15831
2003#595,043#7,2459
2002#495,487#5,72512
2001#485,762#5,14214
2000#466,222#6,31610
1999#456,390#5,65611
1998#446,478#4,65014
1997#466,650#4,66813
1996#446,968#4,02216
1995#407,458#4,50813
1994#377,758#5,45210
1993#368,124#3,50118
1992#368,463#2,74725
1991#388,764#2,22732
1990#358,670#1,75545
1989#388,645#1,25874
1988#348,518#1,52548
1987#378,395#1,15369
1986#378,507#1,45747
1985#359,240#1,13367
1984#339,293#1,22856
1983#329,897#1,20557
1982#3010,851#1,06473
1981#2711,042#1,11167
1980#2511,474#1,29152
1979#2410,555#1,10865
1978#2410,040#1,12161
1977#2110,656#1,22152
1976#2210,315#1,05662
1975#1910,973#1,00766
1974#1311,738#1,05261
1973#1412,313#1,10854
1972#1313,757#92974
1971#916,703#87786
1970#919,204#81299
1969#819,850#752108
1968#621,727#742101
1967#425,316#662127
1966#328,890#713108
1965#234,270#642136
1964#240,985#665134
1963#241,546#667137
1962#243,502#614158
1961#147,682#610168
1960#151,472#605169
1959#154,502#600169
1958#155,848#648141
1957#161,102#573182
1956#161,741#631145
1955#163,174#608148
1954#168,019#566168
1953#164,389#598146
1952#265,629#555159
1951#265,721#534161
1950#265,481#633119
1949#266,874#512169
1948#268,597#514164
1947#271,690#496184
1946#167,471#469186
1945#159,278#424198
1944#162,476#376253
1943#166,174#384254
1942#163,256#363278
1941#158,048#329315
1940#156,216#326303
1939#154,900#341272
1938#156,225#331284
1937#155,641#320288
1936#154,377#312292
1935#155,076#328277
1934#156,929#313302
1933#155,517#297318
1932#159,883#305330
1931#160,299#306325
1930#164,153#308340
1929#163,512#306327
1928#166,871#330294
1927#170,642#344283
1926#167,832#352272
1925#170,586#368260
1924#173,534#411224
1923#171,634#425203
1922#172,177#448186
1921#173,984#450187
1920#170,983#430195
1919#165,836#482154
1918#167,365#457169
1917#164,280#447159
1916#161,438#437164
1915#158,187#429159
1914#145,346#425127
1913#136,642#374126
1912#132,304#349118
1911#124,390#26298
1910#122,848#23699
1909#119,259#24780
1908#118,665#23579
1907#117,580#25270
1906#116,370#22576
1905#116,067#23968
1904#114,961#24958
1903#114,275#23063
1902#114,486#24856
1901#113,136#22958
1900#116,705#23075
1899#113,172#23450
1898#114,406#24950
1897#113,413#21163
1896#113,811#24057
1895#113,447#26147
1894#113,151#24948
1893#112,784#22955
1892#113,172#25150
1891#111,704#25739
1890#112,078#29035
1889#111,648#26041
1888#111,754#24550
1887#19,888#23047
1886#19,889#30132
1885#19,128#26838
1884#19,217#28836
1883#18,012#28932
1882#18,148#31330
1881#16,919#29629
1880#17,065#32527
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Mary was already there! It came in at #1, and was given to 7,065 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 2010–2025, when fewer than 2,900 girls a year got the name.

See more about Mary
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 6 spots since 2024 (#131#125)
  • 2 spots since 2020 (#123#125)
  • 2 spots since 2015 (#123#125)
  • Biggest jump: 6 spots in 2025 (#131#125)
  • Biggest drop: 13 spots in 2007 (#80#93)
Rise & fade · girls
41 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1921 at #1 (73,984 births)
  • Births halved by 1965, 44 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 10 for 92 yrs
  • Top 10: 92 yrs · run 1880–1971
  • Top 100: 129 yrs · run 1880–2008
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 13
  • Highest: 1 in 13 girls born in 1880 were named Mary (7.8%)
  • Latest: 1 in 721 girls born in 2025 (0.14%)
  • Its best rank, #1 in 1921, was only 1 in 17 (6.0%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1920s
  • 16.9% of all girls named Mary (701,755) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s91,668#1 (1888)#1
1890s131,138#1 (1898)#1
1900s161,504#1 (1909)#1
1910s478,636#1 (1918)#1
1920s701,755#1 (1921)#1
1930s573,000#1 (1930)#1
1940s640,080#1 (1946)#1
1950s625,606#1 (1954)#1
1960s355,240#1 (1960)#3
1970s126,254#9 (1970)#17
1980s95,862#25 (1980)#33
1990s75,723#35 (1990)#40
2000s46,337#46 (2000)#71
2010s25,693#108 (2010)#121
2020s12,985#123 (2020)#130

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Mary in 1917

girls
#1
64,280 births · 1 in 17 girls
boys
#447
159 births · 1 in 5,821 boys

Top girls' names in 1917

  1. #1Mary64,280
  2. #2Helen34,251
  3. #3Dorothy28,852
  4. #4Margaret25,560
  5. #5Ruth23,568
  6. #6Mildred16,256
  7. #7Anna15,160
  8. #8Elizabeth15,131
  9. #9Frances14,363
  10. #10Virginia14,261

Top boys' names in 1917

  1. #1John51,852
  2. #2William42,422
  3. #3James37,337
  4. #4Robert35,220
  5. #5Joseph24,761
  6. #6George24,196
  7. #7Charles24,143
  8. #8Edward17,501
  9. #9Frank15,768
  10. #10Thomas12,611
  11. #447Mary159
More about 1917

girls

1,081,267 girls got a published name in 1917; 1 in 17 of them was named Mary, which outranked 100.0% of the 5,310 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Mary
  1. #1Mary64,280
  2. #2Helen34,251
  3. #3Dorothy28,852
  4. #4Margaret25,560
Biggest movers since 1916
Risers
  1. 549Georgene#1,445#896
  2. 380Ottie#1,332#952
  3. 365Louis#1,298#933
  4. 334Valentine#1,298#964
  5. 322Harold#1,210#888
Fallers
  1. 401Ceola#840#1,241
  2. 373Floretta#964#1,337
  3. 344Buelah#993#1,337
  4. 326Glennie#915#1,241
  5. 290Maye#915#1,205

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

925,482 boys got a published name in 1917; 1 in 5,821 of them was named Mary, which outranked 90.3% of the 4,602 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 30.9% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Mary
  1. #443Luke163
  2. #445Van162
  3. #446Evan161
  4. #447Mary159
  5. #447Major159
  6. #447Ulysses159
  7. #450Gail158
  8. #450Gregory158
  9. #452Randall157

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1916
Risers
  1. 520Nicolas#1,304#784
  2. 469Hezekiah#1,415#946
  3. 433Hilliard#1,415#982
  4. 404Rayford#1,304#900
  5. 338Minoru#1,335#997
Fallers
  1. 1,738Tatsuo#824#2,562
  2. 709Berlin#984#1,693
  3. 556Prentice#972#1,528
  4. 473Manning#964#1,437
  5. 457Lovell#939#1,396

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1917