Sierra

#614 for girls in 2025, 476 births · Last seen for boys in 2006 at #12,055
Given to girls 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1999 · 5,715 births
Debut · girls
32 births
In top 100 · girls
12 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
100,597
since 1940

Sierra over time

girls

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

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201986peak #49, 1999girls
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#614476
2024#593508
2023#566525
2022#551552
2021#508612
2020#531568
2019#497630
2018#452699
2017#449704
2016#424771
2015#404800
2014#350949
2013#342945
2012#2781,170
2011#2781,149
2010#2141,455
2009#1961,676
2008#1751,903
2007#1682,114
2006#1402,466#12,0555
2005#1053,049#11,4725
2004#923,520#5,00716
2003#734,242#6,25811
2002#624,807#8,4567
2001#555,237#8,3397
2000#535,520#7,4168
1999#495,715#6,5309
1998#515,841#5,15912
1997#565,688#5,64210
1996#625,487#4,87812
1995#605,495#5,50110
1994#714,853#3,59618
1993#913,473#6,2288
1992#1292,614#6,1288
1991#1382,302#5,09610
1990#1412,170#4,67311
1989#1551,863#4,01713
1988#1811,550#4,45010
1987#1731,620#4,9688
1986#1691,610#4,8538
1985#2161,198#4,6988
1984#715231#6,3155
1983#804193#4,9077
1982#780210
1981#835187#4,5098
1980#845184
1979#923159
1978#903158#2,79915
1977#1,004134#3,60610
1976#1,23791#5,5875
1975#1,38176#5,4645
1974#1,63057
1973#1,97941
1972#2,82024
1971#2,87424
1970#2,93823
1969#4,41811
1968#7,0165
1967#3,21116
1966#5,2737
1965#5,2897
1964#4,6369
1963#4,01911
1962#5,2937
1961#4,8828
1960
1959#5,5666
1958#4,8907
1957#4,9187
1956#4,4678
1955#4,3768
1954#4,2788
1953
1952#5,5635
1951
1950#5,3015
1949
1948#3,13711
1947#5,2955
1946#3,03411
1945#2,33914
1944#2,28715
1943#1,99419
1942#2,53713
1941#1,61024
1940#1,31332
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First appearance
1940

The first year at least five girls were named Sierra! It came in at #1,313, and was given to 32 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1949–1953, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

Where Sierra is popular in 1986

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedAKMaine: #97 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 406 girlsMEVermont: #121 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 543 girlsVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedNHWashington: #180 for girls · 29 births · 1 in 938 girlsWAIdaho: #117 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 505 girlsIDMontana: #184 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 777 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #142 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 710 girlsNDMinnesota: #323 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 2,306 girlsMNIllinois: #246 for girls · 45 births · 1 in 1,576 girlsILWisconsin: #242 for girls · 18 births · 1 in 1,649 girlsWIMichigan: #140 for girls · 69 births · 1 in 819 girlsMINew York: #227 for girls · 79 births · 1 in 1,373 girlsNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedRIOregon: #129 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 668 girlsORNevada: #181 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 847 girlsNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedSDIowa: #164 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 840 girlsIAIndiana: #110 for girls · 58 births · 1 in 567 girlsINOhio: #126 for girls · 94 births · 1 in 723 girlsOHPennsylvania: #211 for girls · 50 births · 1 in 1,375 girlsPANew Jersey: #281 for girls · 22 births · 1 in 1,909 girlsNJConnecticut: #258 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 1,733 girlsCTCalifornia: #263 for girls · 146 births · 1 in 1,423 girlsCAUtah: #173 for girls · 16 births · 1 in 873 girlsUTColorado: #189 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 1,092 girlsCONebraska: #239 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 1,360 girlsNEMissouri: #129 for girls · 46 births · 1 in 683 girlsMOKentucky: #212 for girls · 17 births · 1 in 1,233 girlsKYWest Virginia: #190 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 1,049 girlsWVVirginia: #93 for girls · 68 births · 1 in 496 girlsVAMaryland: #59 for girls · 80 births · 1 in 307 girlsMDDelaware: #104 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 454 girlsDEArizona: #189 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 1,018 girlsAZNew Mexico: #251 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 1,184 girlsNMKansas: #139 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 725 girlsKSArkansas: #202 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 1,129 girlsARTennessee: #124 for girls · 41 births · 1 in 672 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #103 for girls · 64 births · 1 in 556 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #72 for girls · 49 births · 1 in 361 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 girls named Sierra, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #167 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 939 girlsOKLouisiana: #78 for girls · 67 births · 1 in 421 girlsLAMississippi: #147 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 724 girlsMSAlabama: #167 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 928 girlsALGeorgia: #88 for girls · 76 births · 1 in 496 girlsGAHawaii: #99 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 407 girlsHITexas: #300 for girls · 72 births · 1 in 1,829 girlsTXFlorida: #124 for girls · 92 births · 1 in 722 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Maryland#59 · 1 in 307
  2. South Carolina#72 · 1 in 361
  3. Louisiana#78 · 1 in 421
  4. Georgia#88 · 1 in 496
  5. Virginia#93 · 1 in 496

Best ever in a state: #7 in Wyoming, 1999.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Maryland#59801 in 307
South Carolina#72491 in 361
Louisiana#78671 in 421
Georgia#88761 in 496
Virginia#93681 in 496
Maine#97151 in 406
Hawaii#99121 in 407
North Carolina#103641 in 556
Delaware#10471 in 454
Indiana#110581 in 567
Idaho#117111 in 505
Vermont#12151 in 543
Florida#124921 in 722
Tennessee#124411 in 672
Ohio#126941 in 723
Missouri#129461 in 683
Oregon#129231 in 668
Kansas#139201 in 725
Michigan#140691 in 819
North Dakota#14261 in 710
Mississippi#147191 in 724
Iowa#164191 in 840
Alabama#167231 in 928
Oklahoma#167201 in 939
Utah#173161 in 873
Washington#180291 in 938
Nevada#18161 in 847
Montana#18451 in 777
Arizona#189231 in 1,018
Colorado#189201 in 1,092
West Virginia#19091 in 1,049
Arkansas#202111 in 1,129
Pennsylvania#211501 in 1,375
Kentucky#212171 in 1,233
New York#227791 in 1,373
Nebraska#23971 in 1,360
Wisconsin#242181 in 1,649
Illinois#246451 in 1,576
New Mexico#25181 in 1,184
Connecticut#258101 in 1,733
California#2631461 in 1,423
New Jersey#281221 in 1,909
Texas#300721 in 1,829
Minnesota#323121 in 2,306
Alaska
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Wyoming

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Sierra
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 21 spots since 2024 (#593#614)
  • 83 spots since 2020 (#531#614)
  • 210 spots since 2015 (#404#614)
  • Biggest jump: 499 spots in 1985 (#715#216)
  • Biggest drop: 64 spots in 2011 (#214#278)
Rise & fade · girls
59 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1940
  • Peaked 1999 at #49 (5,715 births)
  • Births halved by 2006, 7 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 12 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 12 yrs · run 1993–2004
  • Top 1,000: 48 yrs · run 1978–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 303
  • Highest: 1 in 303 girls born in 1998 were named Sierra (0.33%)
  • Latest: 1 in 3,377 girls born in 2025 (0.03%)
  • Its best rank, #49 in 1999, was only 1 in 310 (0.32%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1990s
  • 43.4% of all girls named Sierra (43,638) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1940s144#1,313 (1940)#2,616
1950s54#4,278 (1954)#4,920
1960s81#3,211 (1967)#4,893
1970s787#903 (1978)#1,769
1980s8,846#155 (1989)#487
1990s43,638#49 (1999)#85
2000s34,534#53 (2000)#112
2010s9,272#214 (2010)#369
2020s3,241#508 (2021)#561

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.

Sierra in 1986

girls
#169
1,610 births · 1 in 1,066 girls
boys
#4,853
8 births · 1 in 230,189 boys

Top girls' names in 1986

  1. #1Jessica52,682
  2. #2Ashley49,671
  3. #3Amanda40,532
  4. #4Jennifer36,187
  5. #5Sarah28,163
  6. #6Stephanie22,651
  7. #7Nicole21,292
  8. #8Brittany20,313
  9. #9Heather19,790
  10. #10Elizabeth19,074
  11. #169Sierra1,610

Top boys' names in 1986

  1. #1Michael64,235
  2. #2Christopher56,693
  3. #3Matthew46,929
  4. #4Joshua37,542
  5. #5David37,150
  6. #6Daniel36,573
  7. #7James34,057
  8. #8Andrew33,858
  9. #9Robert31,350
  10. #10John30,209
  11. #4,853Sierra8
More about 1986

girls

1,715,547 girls got a published name in 1986; 1 in 1,066 of them was named Sierra, which outranked 98.7% of the 12,836 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Sierra
  1. #166Ana1,641
  2. #167Jenny1,632
  3. #168Kristi1,615
  4. #169Sierra1,610
  5. #170Kari1,601
  6. #171Angel1,583
  7. #172Bridget1,577
Biggest movers since 1985
Risers
  1. 9,719Kyrie#10,677#958
  2. 4,778Sable#5,678#900
  3. 2,034Eliana#2,484#450
  4. 1,497Shatara#2,484#987
  5. 1,374Cherrelle#2,253#879
Fallers
  1. 442Violeta#963#1,405
  2. 361Micaela#545#906
  3. 361Tasia#572#933
  4. 324Jo#925#1,249
  5. 306Tammie#987#1,293

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

boys

1,841,515 boys got a published name in 1986; 1 in 230,189 of them was named Sierra, which outranked 38.0% of the 7,830 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 22.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Sierra
  1. #4,457Zedrick9
  2. #4,457Zephaniah9
  3. #4,457Ziyad9
  4. #4,853Sierra8
  5. #4,853Abdel8
  6. #4,853Abelino8
  7. #4,853Abimael8
  8. #5,332Aaren7
  9. #5,332Abdurrahman7
  10. #5,332Abed7

Tied with 478 names at #4,853; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1985
Risers
  1. 1,279Spenser#2,226#947
  2. 920Jayce#1,614#694
  3. 714Addison#1,228#514
  4. 649Payton#1,614#965
  5. 573Cordell#1,181#608
Fallers
  1. 409Ulises#877#1,286
  2. 365Eliot#934#1,299
  3. 322Jordy#998#1,320
  4. 313Trace#956#1,269
  5. 292Kennith#963#1,255

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

See the top 100 for 1986