Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2000

Esperanza

Meaning hope Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,209 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

Esperanza is a Spanish feminine given name, meaning "hope" or "expectation".

Rank 2025
#1,209
among girls · ↓196 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
188
named Esperanza · -25% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,549
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2000
499 babies
All-time total
20,884
#1,040 all-time among girls
First recorded
1903
in Social Security records

Esperanza popularity over time

20,884 babies have been named Esperanza since 1903, 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
0.080.150.230.318801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s 45 – 45 5 – #1,225
1910s 454 – 454 45 +909% #712
1920s 1,695 15 1,710 171 +277% #446
1930s 1,385 5 1,390 139 -19% #495
1940s 1,602 – 1,602 160 +15% #548
1950s 1,500 – 1,500 150 -6% #651
1960s 1,232 – 1,232 123 -18% #862
1970s 1,317 – 1,317 132 +7% #877
1980s 1,302 10 1,312 131 0% #914
1990s 2,359 – 2,359 236 +80% #605
2000s 3,814 5 3,819 382 +62% #528
2010s 2,690 – 2,690 269 -30% #884
2020s (to 2025) 1,454 – 1,454 242 -10% #949

Where Esperanza 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 184 0.11 outside top 500
2027 181 0.11 outside top 500
2028 178 0.11 outside top 500
2029 175 0.11 outside top 500
2030 173 0.11 outside top 500

Where Esperanza is most popular

Girls named Esperanza per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.146 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

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 Esperanza 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
New Mexico 40 1.64 +1027%
Arizona 73 0.520 +256%
Colorado 42 0.376 +158%
California 256 0.305 +109%
Texas 224 0.279 +91%
Washington 32 0.222 +52%
Oregon 13 0.200 +37%
Nebraska 5 0.139 -5%
Oklahoma 10 0.136 -7%
Illinois 30 0.131 -10%
Georgia 27 0.119 -19%
Nevada 5 0.108 -26%
Florida 40 0.093 -36%
North Carolina 20 0.088 -40%
Indiana 12 0.085 -41%
New York 32 0.081 -45%
Minnesota 6 0.056 -62%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -67%
Virginia 8 0.047 -68%
Michigan 6 0.033 -77%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -78%
New Jersey 5 0.028 -81%
Ohio 5 0.021 -86%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Esperanza

Esperanza is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,209 in 2025 with 188 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1903, 20,884 American babies have been named Esperanza. Its peak came in 2000, when 499 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Esperanza stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Esperanza?

The median living Esperanza is about 26 years old; half are between 16 and 52. An estimated 17 thousand people named Esperanza are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

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

Esperanza 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 188 #1,209 – –
2024 252 #1,013 – –
2023 258 #992 – –
2022 262 #998 – –
2021 224 #1,105 – –
2020 270 #949 – –
2019 272 #966 – –
2018 265 #991 – –
2017 277 #955 – –
2016 264 #999 – –
2015 298 #922 – –
2014 258 #1,013 – –
2013 249 #1,004 – –
2012 240 #1,050 – –
2011 296 #884 – –
2010 271 #949 – –
2009 278 #962 – –
2008 277 #968 – –
2007 351 #819 – –
2006 422 #676 – –
2005 363 #742 – –
2004 350 #749 – –
2003 396 #668 – –
2002 423 #606 5 #11,235
2001 455 #568 – –
2000 499 #528 – –
1995 213 #890 – –
1990 158 #1,105 – –
1985 110 #1,244 5 #6,871
1980 138 #1,035 – –
1975 134 #944 – –
1970 104 #1,129 – –
1965 120 #925 – –
1960 136 #904 – –
1955 144 #806 – –
1950 167 #659 – –
1945 179 #548 – –
1940 147 #576 – –
1935 124 #580 – –
1930 169 #518 – –
1925 184 #524 – –
1920 115 #677 – –
1915 54 #896 – –
1910 13 #1,285 – –
1905 6 #1,773 – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Esperanza

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

  1. 1 Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Spalding American jazz bassist and singer b. 1984 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre Spanish politician (born 1952) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Esperanza?

The median living Esperanza is about 26 years old. Half of all living Esperanzas are between 16 and 52 years old.

How many people named Esperanza are alive today?

An estimated 17 thousand people named Esperanza are alive in the United States, based on 20,884 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Esperanza mean?

Esperanza is a Spanish feminine given name, meaning "hope" or "expectation".

How popular is the name Esperanza in 2025?

Esperanza ranked #1,209 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 188 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Esperanza?

20,884 babies have been named Esperanza in the United States since 1903, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Esperanza most popular?

Esperanza peaked in 2000, when 499 newborns received the name.

Is Esperanza a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Esperanza rising or falling?

Esperanza has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Esperanza become more popular?

Esperanza is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 173 girls named Esperanza 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 Esperanza?

Well-known people named Esperanza include Esperanza Spalding (musician), Esperanza Aguirre (politician).

Names like Esperanza

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

Compare Esperanza with similar names → More names starting with E →