Pearl

#776 for girls in 2025, 350 births · Last seen for boys in 1983 at #6,238
Given to girls 97.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1900 · 2,512 births
Debut · girls
569 births
In top 100 · girls
47 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
159,088
since 1880

Pearl over time

girls

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

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201916peak #24, 1900girls
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#776350
2024#801351
2023#800351
2022#754382
2021#740385
2020#776351
2019#729387
2018#644460
2017#651455
2016#567549
2015#624461
2014#629454
2013#672424
2012#755368
2011#806335
2010#960267
2009#983269
2008#1,016259
2007#991269
2006#1,045245
2005#1,203190
2004#1,152196
2003#1,084203
2002#1,068199
2001#1,035208
2000#1,046200
1999#1,191162
1998#1,150164
1997#1,273138
1996#1,056175
1995#1,113159
1994#1,346124
1993#1,138156
1992#1,126157
1991#1,215142
1990#1,253131
1989#1,168140
1988#1,066148
1987#1,081141
1986#973162
1985#945165
1984#887169
1983#880172#6,2385
1982#824190
1981#846184
1980#900168#5,5256
1979#995143
1978#1,031132
1977#1,062123#4,5827
1976#917143#4,9356
1975#891148
1974#876148
1973#882142#4,5056
1972#804168#4,4416
1971#842163#3,3709
1970#840161
1969#876143#4,4045
1968#757172
1967#738175#2,7609
1966#701195#2,32712
1965#596259#2,9828
1964#587284#2,66510
1963#590284#3,3187
1962#509364
1961#524346#2,70610
1960#505372#3,3377
1959#518350#2,53011
1958#483388#2,26513
1957#447443#1,88718
1956#420468#2,01516
1955#405465#1,48327
1954#388492#1,95616
1953#375516#1,90017
1952#363516#2,25112
1951#347531#2,49510
1950#320588#1,74618
1949#323575#1,66720
1948#290690#1,70319
1947#293713#1,31631
1946#284677#1,50922
1945#265654#1,27027
1944#238756#1,23529
1943#223879#1,01843
1942#1911,092#1,03642
1941#211835#1,53220
1940#197907#1,25129
1939#197902#86750
1938#1891,005#95144
1937#1871,024#93245
1936#1721,120#98940
1935#1671,187#85853
1934#1541,338#1,05938
1933#1431,384#87550
1932#1381,618#98045
1931#1371,648#77565
1930#1212,069#78267
1929#1142,172#73473
1928#1102,367#70281
1927#1022,718#72680
1926#962,899#76571
1925#903,213#80168
1924#783,635#71685
1923#783,543#71183
1922#713,848#74878
1921#654,175#69886
1920#624,204#66791
1919#564,273#61298
1918#564,521#611101
1917#574,232#65084
1916#574,073#71570
1915#563,976#57697
1914#563,223#67357
1913#552,756#51370
1912#542,528#55253
1911#482,075#51433
1910#392,177#59823
1909#402,048#37141
1908#392,075#38936
1907#352,108#36637
1906#352,035#35534
1905#312,108#39329
1904#302,015#36830
1903#272,046#31236
1902#282,100#33135
1901#311,866#27738
1900#242,512#33741
1899#271,999#33129
1898#262,158#29839
1897#252,076#26344
1896#252,101#30637
1895#261,958#26645
1894#281,789#23155
1893#261,796#21962
1892#261,831#29239
1891#271,605#29731
1890#241,741#24348
1889#241,588#22950
1888#261,591#21269
1887#251,316#19164
1886#291,204#18273
1885#261,146#21257
1884#251,138#20962
1883#29886#20057
1882#33824#21558
1881#38641#21152
1880#47569#19662
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Pearl was already there! It came in at #47, and was given to 569 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1967–1981, when fewer than 190 girls a year got the name.

See more about Pearl
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 25 spots since 2024 (#801#776)
  • Same as 2020 (#776)
  • 152 spots since 2015 (#624#776)
  • Biggest jump: 154 spots in 2011 (#960#806)
  • Biggest drop: 145 spots in 1977 (#917#1,062)
Rise & fade · girls
20 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1900 at #24 (2,512 births)
  • Births halved by 1935, 35 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 47 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 47 yrs · run 1880–1926
  • Top 1,000: 123 yrs · run 1880–1976
Share of babies · girls
1 in 109
  • Highest: 1 in 109 girls born in 1890 were named Pearl (0.91%)
  • Latest: 1 in 4,592 girls born in 2025 (0.02%)
  • Its best rank, #24 in 1900, was only 1 in 119 (0.84%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1910s
  • 21.3% of all girls named Pearl (33,834) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s10,903#24 (1889)#30
1890s19,054#24 (1890)#26
1900s20,913#24 (1900)#32
1910s33,834#39 (1910)#53
1920s32,774#62 (1920)#87
1930s13,295#121 (1930)#161
1940s7,778#191 (1942)#252
1950s4,757#320 (1950)#407
1960s2,594#505 (1960)#638
1970s1,471#804 (1972)#914
1980s1,639#824 (1982)#957
1990s1,508#1,056 (1996)#1,186
2000s2,238#983 (2009)#1,062
2010s4,160#567 (2016)#704
2020s2,170#740 (2021)#775

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.

Pearl in 1916

girls
#57
4,073 births · 1 in 256 girls
boys
#715
70 births · 1 in 12,715 boys

Top girls' names in 1916

  1. #1Mary61,438
  2. #2Helen32,661
  3. #3Dorothy27,418
  4. #4Margaret24,953
  5. #5Ruth23,189
  6. #6Mildred15,633
  7. #7Anna15,228
  8. #8Elizabeth14,940
  9. #9Frances13,746
  10. #10Virginia12,487
  11. #57Pearl4,073

Top boys' names in 1916

  1. #1John50,043
  2. #2William40,418
  3. #3James35,569
  4. #4Robert31,741
  5. #5Joseph23,883
  6. #6Charles23,612
  7. #7George23,381
  8. #8Edward17,005
  9. #9Frank15,291
  10. #10Thomas11,998
  11. #715Pearl70
More about 1916

girls

1,044,334 girls got a published name in 1916; 1 in 256 of them was named Pearl, which outranked 98.9% of the 5,161 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Pearl
  1. #54Ida4,364
  2. #55Eva4,337
  3. #56Bessie4,122
  4. #57Pearl4,073
  5. #58Myrtle3,960
  6. #59Viola3,948
  7. #60Kathryn3,933
Biggest movers since 1915
Risers
  1. 567Trinidad#1,317#750
  2. 388Coral#1,367#979
  3. 377Coletta#1,317#940
  4. 370Clifford#1,285#915
  5. 327Maida#1,231#904
Fallers
  1. 364Louis#934#1,298
  2. 354Herminia#944#1,298
  3. 346Gertha#900#1,246
  4. 344Lahoma#934#1,278
  5. 310Hassie#900#1,210

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

boys

890,080 boys got a published name in 1916; 1 in 12,715 of them was named Pearl, which outranked 84.2% of the 4,535 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 30.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Pearl
  1. #708Jennings71
  2. #708Norval71
  3. #708Silvio71
  4. #715Pearl70
  5. #715Bradley70
  6. #715Chas70
  7. #715Emmet70
  8. #724Arne69
  9. #724Buddy69
  10. #724Dexter69

Tied with 8 names at #715; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1915
Risers
  1. 2,568Tatsuo#3,392#824
  2. 1,088Hughes#1,878#790
  3. 410Angel#1,181#771
  4. 378Trinidad#1,181#803
  5. 354Rolla#1,306#952
Fallers
  1. 500Nicolas#804#1,304
  2. 468Collins#906#1,374
  3. 463Hilliard#952#1,415
  4. 383Arvo#952#1,335
  5. 363Rayford#941#1,304

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

See the top 100 for 1916