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
#1
1921 · 73,984 births
Debut · girls
1880
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#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201981peak #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 1981

girls
#27
11,042 births · 1 in 151 girls
boys
#1,111
67 births · 1 in 26,734 boys

Top girls' names in 1981

  1. #1Jennifer57,046
  2. #2Jessica42,531
  3. #3Amanda34,372
  4. #4Sarah28,175
  5. #5Melissa28,005
  6. #6Amy20,345
  7. #7Nicole20,310
  8. #8Stephanie20,212
  9. #9Elizabeth20,168
  10. #10Heather17,946
  11. #27Mary11,042

Top boys' names in 1981

  1. #1Michael68,750
  2. #2Christopher50,221
  3. #3Matthew43,330
  4. #4Jason41,927
  5. #5David40,629
  6. #6Joshua39,024
  7. #7James38,283
  8. #8John34,868
  9. #9Robert34,395
  10. #10Daniel30,985
  11. #1,111Mary67
More about 1981

girls

1,668,060 girls got a published name in 1981; 1 in 151 of them was named Mary, which outranked 99.8% of the 12,198 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Mary
  1. #24Andrea11,686
  2. #25April11,406
  3. #26Sara11,359
  4. #27Mary11,042
  5. #28Jamie10,982
  6. #29Emily10,799
  7. #30Danielle10,038
Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,850Tashina#4,743 → #893
  2. ↑ 2,742Krystle#3,215 → #473
  3. ↑ 1,800Tierra#2,342 → #542
  4. ↑ 1,398Martine#2,189 → #791
  5. ↑ 999Nereida#1,981 → #982
Fallers
  1. ↓ 764Kylene#990 → #1,754
  2. ↓ 607Renada#708 → #1,315
  3. ↓ 560Ashanti#822 → #1,382
  4. ↓ 399Renata#336 → #735
  5. ↓ 395Tracee#959 → #1,354

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

boys

1,791,177 boys got a published name in 1981; 1 in 26,734 of them was named Mary, which outranked 84.8% of the 7,289 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Mary
  1. #1,101Ned68
  2. #1,101Phil68
  3. #1,101Reyes68
  4. #1,111Mary67
  5. #1,111Carroll67
  6. #1,111Christina67
  7. #1,111Derrek67
  8. #1,125Dimitrios66
  9. #1,125Drake66
  10. #1,125Eldon66

Tied with 13 names at #1,111; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,321Marchello#2,162 → #841
  2. ↑ 1,104Skylar#2,058 → #954
  3. ↑ 816Kellen#1,432 → #616
  4. ↑ 499Marcello#1,291 → #792
  5. ↑ 456Tyrel#1,089 → #633
Fallers
  1. ↓ 306Kenyatta#871 → #1,177
  2. ↓ 284Seneca#718 → #1,002
  3. ↓ 247Kimberly#989 → #1,236
  4. ↓ 216Chadd#927 → #1,143
  5. ↓ 214Levar#911 → #1,125

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

See the top 100 for 1981 →