girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Judy

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,874 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

A diminutive of the female given name Judith, also used as a formal female given name.

Rank 2025
#1,874
among girls · ↓223 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
105
named Judy · -16% vs 2024
How common
1 in 15,307
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
21,073 babies
All-time total
384,073
#92 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Judy popularity over time

384,073 babies have been named Judy since 1880, 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 41 – 41 4 – #799
1890s 95 – 95 10 +132% #919
1900s 152 – 152 15 +60% #715
1910s 888 – 888 89 +484% #527
1920s 2,627 5 2,632 263 +196% #368
1930s 22,311 83 22,394 2,239 +751% #28
1940s 167,719 483 168,202 16,820 +651% #11
1950s 118,060 255 118,315 11,832 -30% #25
1960s 50,325 165 50,490 5,049 -57% #48
1970s 9,654 58 9,712 971 -81% #177
1980s 4,858 45 4,903 490 -50% #375
1990s 2,662 – 2,662 266 -46% #576
2000s 1,481 – 1,481 148 -44% #1,089
2010s 1,369 – 1,369 137 -8% #1,443
2020s (to 2025) 737 – 737 123 -10% #1,583

Where Judy 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 102 0.06 outside top 500
2027 100 0.06 outside top 500
2028 98 0.06 outside top 500
2029 97 0.06 outside top 500
2030 95 0.06 outside top 500

Where Judy is most popular

Girls named Judy per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.074 per 1,000. Strongest in New Jersey, New York, and Michigan.

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 Judy 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 Jersey 41 0.227 +205%
New York 74 0.187 +151%
Michigan 22 0.121 +62%
Ohio 21 0.089 +19%
Texas 58 0.072 ≈ national
California 57 0.068 -9%
North Carolina 14 0.061 -17%
Florida 23 0.054 -28%
Indiana 7 0.050 -33%
Colorado 5 0.045 -40%
Georgia 10 0.044 -41%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -58%
Virginia 5 0.029 -61%
Pennsylvania 6 0.025 -66%
Illinois 5 0.022 -71%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
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 Judy

Judy is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,874 in 2025 with 105 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 384,073 American babies have been named Judy. Its peak came in 1947, when 21,073 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

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

How old are people named Judy?

The median living Judy is about 73 years old; half are between 66 and 79. An estimated 278 thousand people named Judy are alive in the United States today.

median 73 020406080100

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

Judy 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 105 #1,874 – –
2024 125 #1,651 – –
2023 129 #1,619 – –
2022 122 #1,714 – –
2021 123 #1,687 – –
2020 133 #1,583 – –
2019 148 #1,487 – –
2018 144 #1,515 – –
2017 134 #1,617 – –
2016 147 #1,536 – –
2015 160 #1,443 – –
2014 146 #1,512 – –
2013 153 #1,458 – –
2012 120 #1,724 – –
2011 94 #2,061 – –
2010 123 #1,707 – –
2009 111 #1,892 – –
2008 118 #1,831 – –
2007 144 #1,572 – –
2006 127 #1,667 – –
2005 146 #1,458 – –
2004 167 #1,282 – –
2003 158 #1,310 – –
2002 163 #1,233 – –
2001 157 #1,256 – –
2000 190 #1,089 – –
1995 261 #772 – –
1990 402 #576 – –
1985 460 #462 7 #5,446
1980 549 #408 5 #6,743
1975 749 #306 7 #4,558
1970 1,828 #177 15 #2,447
1965 4,243 #86 11 #2,547
1960 8,855 #48 25 #1,642
1955 10,376 #32 27 #1,496
1950 14,207 #25 26 #1,451
1945 17,001 #13 49 #923
1940 11,382 #16 43 #987
1935 1,474 #143 – –
1930 366 #342 – –
1925 312 #389 – –
1920 201 #483 – –
1915 84 #728 – –
1910 29 #803 – –
1905 13 #1,078 – –
1900 12 #1,136 – –
1895 11 #1,019 – –
1890 7 #1,148 – –
1885 6 #983 – –
1880 5 #883 – –

Famous people named Judy

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

  1. 1 Judy Garland Judy Garland American actress and singer (1922–1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Judy Greer Judy Greer American actress (born 1975) Contemporary
  3. 3 Judy Sheindlin Judy Sheindlin American court-show arbitrator (born 1942) Contemporary
  4. 4 Judy Reyes Judy Reyes American actress (born 1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Judy Blume Judy Blume American author (born 1938) Contemporary
  6. 6 Judy Davis Judy Davis Australian film, television, and stage actress (born 1955) Contemporary
  7. 7 Judy Collins Judy Collins American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1939) Contemporary
  8. 8 Judy Cornwell English actress (born 1940) Contemporary
  9. 9 Judy Holliday Judy Holliday American actress and singer (1921–1965) Contemporary
  10. 10 Judy Tyler Judy Tyler American singer-actress (1932–1957) Contemporary
  11. 11 Judy Chicago Judy Chicago American artist (born 1939) Contemporary
  12. 12 Judy Tegart-Dalton Judy Tegart-Dalton Australian tennis player b. 1937 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Judy?

The median living Judy is about 73 years old. Half of all living Judys are between 66 and 79 years old.

How many people named Judy are alive today?

An estimated 278 thousand people named Judy are alive in the United States, based on 384,073 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Judy mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Judith, also used as a formal female given name.

How popular is the name Judy in 2025?

Judy ranked #1,874 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 105 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Judy?

384,073 babies have been named Judy in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Judy most popular?

Judy peaked in 1947, when 21,073 newborns received the name.

Is Judy a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Judy rising or falling?

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

Will Judy become more popular?

Judy is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 95 girls named Judy 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 Judy?

Well-known people named Judy include Judy Garland (actor), Judy Greer (actor), Judy Sheindlin (lawyer).

Names like Judy

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

Compare Judy with similar names → More names starting with J →