girls' name ★ peaked 1957

Cindy

Meaning A diminutive of the female given name Cynthia and Lucinda Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,929 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

A diminutive of the female given name Cynthia and Lucinda; also used as a formal female given name.

Rank 2025
#1,929
among girls · ↓271 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
100
named Cindy · -19% vs 2024
How common
1 in 16,073
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1957
20,307 babies
All-time total
258,065
#160 all-time among girls
First recorded
1886
in Social Security records

Cindy popularity over time

258,065 babies have been named Cindy since 1886, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 15 – 15 2 – #1,136
1890s 5 – 5 1 -67% #1,638
1900s 35 – 35 4 +600% #1,516
1910s 81 – 81 8 +131% #1,634
1920s 117 – 117 12 +44% #1,913
1930s 277 – 277 28 +137% #883
1940s 5,469 17 5,486 549 +1881% #212
1950s 83,979 128 84,107 8,411 +1433% #19
1960s 91,595 213 91,808 9,181 +9% #30
1970s 30,876 141 31,017 3,102 -66% #70
1980s 16,020 172 16,192 1,619 -48% #150
1990s 15,039 95 15,134 1,513 -7% #176
2000s 9,896 5 9,901 990 -35% #258
2010s 3,182 – 3,182 318 -68% #528
2020s (to 2025) 708 – 708 118 -63% #1,526

Where Cindy is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 95 0.06 outside top 500
2027 91 0.06 outside top 500
2028 88 0.05 outside top 500
2029 85 0.05 outside top 500
2030 83 0.05 outside top 500

Where Cindy is most popular

Girls named Cindy per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.070 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Cindy born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 96 0.114 +63%
Texas 88 0.109 +56%
New York 42 0.106 +51%
Tennessee 15 0.095 +35%
Ohio 22 0.093 +32%
Georgia 16 0.070 ≈ national
North Carolina 13 0.057 -19%
Maryland 6 0.057 -19%
Indiana 5 0.036 -49%
New Jersey 5 0.028 -61%
Florida 10 0.023 -67%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Cindy

Cindy is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,929 in 2025 with 100 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1886, 258,065 American babies have been named Cindy. Its peak came in 1957, when 20,307 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Cindy stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Cindy?

The median living Cindy is about 62 years old; half are between 52 and 67. An estimated 232 thousand people named Cindy are alive in the United States today.

median 62 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Cindy year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 100 #1,929 – –
2024 124 #1,658 – –
2023 129 #1,616 – –
2022 102 #1,946 – –
2021 114 #1,783 – –
2020 139 #1,526 – –
2019 173 #1,321 – –
2018 170 #1,331 – –
2017 230 #1,098 – –
2016 257 #1,030 – –
2015 249 #1,060 – –
2014 395 #711 – –
2013 342 #795 – –
2012 367 #757 – –
2011 446 #640 – –
2010 553 #528 – –
2009 567 #532 – –
2008 731 #433 – –
2007 820 #397 – –
2006 881 #368 – –
2005 988 #325 – –
2004 1,052 #305 – –
2003 1,160 #272 – –
2002 1,221 #258 – –
2001 1,232 #258 5 #10,863
2000 1,244 #263 – –
1995 1,498 #199 7 #7,119
1990 1,566 #187 15 #3,807
1985 1,594 #174 17 #2,850
1980 1,866 #150 10 #3,896
1975 2,505 #112 15 #2,655
1970 5,049 #72 18 #2,132
1965 7,777 #53 23 #1,629
1960 14,953 #30 32 #1,407
1955 5,588 #79 10 #2,599
1950 1,467 #185 – –
1945 332 #389 – –
1940 73 #834 – –
1935 29 #1,361 – –
1930 12 #2,574 – –
1925 12 #2,808 – –
1920 14 #2,487 – –
1915 12 #2,416 – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 5 #1,985 – –
1895 5 #1,638 – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Cindy

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Cindy Crawford Cindy Crawford American model and actress (born 1966) Contemporary
  2. 2 Cindy Williams Cindy Williams American actress (1947–2023) Contemporary
  3. 3 Cindy McCain Cindy McCain American diplomat and businesswoman (born 1954) Contemporary
  4. 4 Cindy Sherman Cindy Sherman American photographer (born 1954) Contemporary
  5. 5 Cindy Breakspeare Canadian-Jamaican musician and beauty queen (born 1954) Contemporary
  6. 6 Cindy Hyde-Smith Cindy Hyde-Smith American politician (born 1959) Contemporary
  7. 7 Cindy Sheehan Cindy Sheehan American antiwar activist (born 1957) Contemporary
  8. 8 Cindy Klassen Cindy Klassen Canadian speed skater (born 1979) Contemporary
  9. 9 Cindy Roleder Cindy Roleder German hurdler b. 1989 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Cindy, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Cindy?

The median living Cindy is about 62 years old. Half of all living Cindys are between 52 and 67 years old.

How many people named Cindy are alive today?

An estimated 232 thousand people named Cindy are alive in the United States, based on 258,065 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Cindy mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Cynthia and Lucinda; also used as a formal female given name.

How popular is the name Cindy in 2025?

Cindy ranked #1,929 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 100 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Cindy?

258,065 babies have been named Cindy in the United States since 1886, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Cindy most popular?

Cindy peaked in 1957, when 20,307 newborns received the name.

Is Cindy a boy or girl name?

Cindy is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Cindy rising or falling?

Cindy is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Cindy become more popular?

Cindy is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 83 girls named Cindy in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Cindy?

Well-known people named Cindy include Cindy Crawford (model), Cindy Williams (actor), Cindy McCain (businessperson).

Names like Cindy

Names that sound and feel close to Cindy: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Cindy with similar names → More names starting with C →