Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2025

Palmer

Meaning a pilgrim from the Holy Land Gender Unisex · 50% girls Rank 2025 #232 Trend ↑ Rising 90%

From Middle English palmer (“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”), from Old French.

Rank 2025
#232
among girls · ↑26 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,560
named Palmer · +9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,208
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
1,560 babies
All-time total
18,653
#1,752 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Palmer popularity over time

18,653 babies have been named Palmer 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
BoysGirls

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 – 96 96 10 – –
1890s – 142 142 14 +48% –
1900s 7 227 234 23 +65% #1,813
1910s 45 1,024 1,069 107 +357% #2,703
1920s 54 1,295 1,349 135 +26% #3,487
1930s 20 809 829 83 -39% #3,345
1940s 31 630 661 66 -20% #3,560
1950s 45 435 480 48 -27% #3,014
1960s 38 315 353 35 -26% #5,857
1970s – 189 189 19 -46% –
1980s 18 253 271 27 +43% #8,273
1990s 61 489 550 55 +103% #7,902
2000s 128 800 928 93 +69% #5,856
2010s 2,296 1,303 3,599 360 +288% #461
2020s (to 2025) 6,646 1,257 7,903 1,317 +266% #232

Where Palmer 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 1,505 0.94 #203
2027 1,672 1.04 #186
2028 1,829 1.14 #164
2029 1,973 1.23 #151
2030 2,105 1.31 #139

Where Palmer is most popular

Girls named Palmer per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.710 per 1,000. Strongest in South Dakota, Nebraska, and North Dakota.

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 Palmer 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
South Dakota 50 3.50 +393%
Nebraska 95 2.64 +272%
North Dakota 34 2.59 +264%
Kansas 114 1.98 +178%
Iowa 114 1.95 +175%
Kentucky 160 1.87 +164%
Alabama 167 1.78 +151%
South Carolina 156 1.74 +145%
Tennessee 262 1.65 +133%
Oklahoma 121 1.64 +132%
Mississippi 69 1.47 +108%
Arkansas 73 1.38 +95%
Georgia 308 1.36 +91%
Ohio 320 1.35 +90%
Indiana 177 1.26 +78%
North Carolina 285 1.25 +76%
Missouri 150 1.24 +75%
Louisiana 108 1.23 +74%
Idaho 35 1.05 +47%
Minnesota 112 1.04 +46%
Michigan 181 0.994 +40%
West Virginia 26 0.992 +40%
Colorado 110 0.985 +39%
Delaware 11 0.970 +37%
Maryland 97 0.915 +29%
Wisconsin 94 0.913 +29%
Florida 376 0.879 +24%
Oregon 54 0.829 +17%
Utah 67 0.805 +13%
Illinois 184 0.804 +13%
Texas 621 0.772 +9%
Virginia 127 0.745 +5%
Arizona 101 0.720 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 162 0.685 ≈ national
Alaska 5 0.581 -18%
Washington 83 0.575 -19%
Connecticut 31 0.533 -25%
Montana 5 0.369 -48%
New Jersey 61 0.338 -52%
Massachusetts 39 0.323 -55%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 -62%
California 222 0.264 -63%
New York 80 0.202 -72%
Nevada 7 0.151 -79%
District of Columbia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Palmer

Palmer is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #232 in 2025 with 1,330 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 18,653 American babies have been named Palmer, about 50% girls and 50% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2025, when 1,560 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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

How old are people named Palmer?

The median living Palmer is about 5 years old; half are between 2 and 12. An estimated 14 thousand people named Palmer are alive in the United States today.

median 5 020406080100

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

Palmer 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 1,330 #232 230 #995
2024 1,224 #258 202 #1,079
2023 1,133 #277 240 #945
2022 1,075 #295 200 #1,091
2021 996 #330 222 #989
2020 888 #348 163 #1,188
2019 675 #461 165 #1,176
2018 433 #675 172 #1,125
2017 247 #1,044 179 #1,094
2016 241 #1,080 133 #1,345
2015 177 #1,348 137 #1,301
2014 173 #1,355 112 #1,464
2013 132 #1,629 114 #1,456
2012 138 #1,581 114 #1,456
2011 67 #2,658 94 #1,631
2010 13 #9,116 83 #1,790
2009 17 #7,606 94 #1,682
2008 20 #6,748 84 #1,787
2007 24 #5,856 109 #1,474
2006 14 #8,603 98 #1,532
2005 10 #10,733 80 #1,688
2004 11 #9,749 86 #1,550
2003 10 #10,244 72 #1,711
2002 7 #13,273 54 #2,041
2001 8 #11,795 58 #1,905
2000 7 #12,800 65 #1,738
1995 7 #11,428 36 #2,243
1990 – – 48 #1,695
1985 – – 25 #2,208
1980 – – 27 #2,039
1975 – – 18 #2,423
1970 – – 30 #1,569
1965 5 #7,242 25 #1,585
1960 6 #6,200 33 #1,394
1955 5 #6,480 56 #1,007
1950 13 #3,014 39 #1,157
1945 – – 47 #950
1940 – – 68 #746
1935 – – 91 #614
1930 5 #5,092 101 #614
1925 7 #4,343 131 #537
1920 7 #4,306 144 #506
1915 5 #4,805 135 #480
1910 5 #2,703 25 #578
1905 – – 19 #544
1900 – – 21 #529
1895 – – 13 #599
1890 – – 10 #659
1885 – – 8 #749
1880 – – 10 #628

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Palmer?

The median living Palmer is about 5 years old. Half of all living Palmers are between 2 and 12 years old.

How many people named Palmer are alive today?

An estimated 14 thousand people named Palmer are alive in the United States, based on 18,653 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Palmer mean?

From Middle English palmer (“a pilgrim from the Holy Land”), from Old French.

How popular is the name Palmer in 2025?

Palmer ranked #232 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,330 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Palmer?

18,653 babies have been named Palmer in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Palmer most popular?

Palmer peaked in 2025, when 1,560 newborns received the name.

Is Palmer a boy or girl name?

Palmer is used for both: about 50% of babies named Palmer have been girls and 50% boys.

Is the name Palmer rising or falling?

Palmer is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Palmer become more popular?

Palmer is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,105 girls named Palmer in 2030, which would rank around #139. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Palmer

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

Compare Palmer with similar names → More names starting with P →