Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2006

Patience

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,297 Trend ↓ Falling 17%

From patience, a virtue name first used by Puritans in the sixteenth century.

Rank 2025
#1,297
among girls · ↑27 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
172
named Patience · -1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 9,345
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2006
508 babies
All-time total
12,469
#1,462 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Patience popularity over time

12,469 babies have been named Patience 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
0.080.150.230.318801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 59 – 59 6 – #687
1890s 82 – 82 8 +39% #831
1900s 75 – 75 8 -9% #1,122
1910s 144 – 144 14 +92% #1,497
1920s 163 – 163 16 +13% #1,982
1930s 171 – 171 17 +5% #1,470
1940s 216 – 216 22 +26% #1,288
1950s 258 – 258 26 +19% #1,740
1960s 360 – 360 36 +40% #1,691
1970s 750 – 750 75 +108% #1,165
1980s 759 – 759 76 +1% #1,257
1990s 2,040 – 2,040 204 +169% #806
2000s 3,523 6 3,529 353 +73% #578
2010s 2,618 19 2,637 264 -25% #803
2020s (to 2025) 1,207 19 1,226 204 -23% #1,080

Where Patience 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 167 0.10 outside top 500
2027 163 0.10 outside top 500
2028 159 0.10 outside top 500
2029 156 0.10 outside top 500
2030 154 0.10 outside top 500

Where Patience is most popular

Girls named Patience per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.121 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia.

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 Patience 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
Mississippi 25 0.534 +343%
South Carolina 46 0.512 +324%
Georgia 65 0.286 +137%
Alabama 26 0.277 +130%
Missouri 32 0.266 +120%
Louisiana 23 0.263 +118%
Ohio 53 0.223 +85%
Indiana 31 0.221 +83%
North Carolina 49 0.215 +79%
Michigan 34 0.187 +55%
Maryland 19 0.179 +49%
Florida 74 0.173 +43%
Virginia 26 0.153 +27%
Arkansas 6 0.114 -6%
Oklahoma 7 0.095 -21%
Tennessee 15 0.095 -21%
Texas 75 0.093 -23%
Illinois 16 0.070 -42%
New York 26 0.066 -46%
Pennsylvania 12 0.051 -58%
Minnesota 5 0.046 -62%
California 37 0.044 -63%
Arizona 5 0.036 -70%
Alaska – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
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 Patience

Patience is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,297 in 2025 with 172 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 12,469 American babies have been named Patience. Its peak came in 2006, when 508 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 Patience stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Patience?

The median living Patience is about 20 years old; half are between 13 and 31. An estimated 12 thousand people named Patience are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

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

Patience 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 172 #1,297 – –
2024 174 #1,324 – –
2023 198 #1,207 6 #11,895
2022 203 #1,189 7 #10,583
2021 231 #1,084 6 #11,783
2020 229 #1,080 – –
2019 236 #1,071 – –
2018 213 #1,147 8 #9,443
2017 181 #1,302 – –
2016 206 #1,206 – –
2015 246 #1,070 – –
2014 273 #978 5 #13,525
2013 291 #887 – –
2012 316 #845 – –
2011 315 #839 – –
2010 341 #803 6 #11,815
2009 383 #746 – –
2008 384 #765 6 #12,187
2007 454 #653 – –
2006 508 #578 – –
2005 472 #604 – –
2004 293 #842 – –
2003 277 #868 – –
2002 264 #869 – –
2001 242 #924 – –
2000 246 #894 – –
1995 209 #907 – –
1990 170 #1,054 – –
1985 63 #1,799 – –
1980 104 #1,257 – –
1975 89 #1,264 – –
1970 39 #2,107 – –
1965 42 #1,758 – –
1960 39 #1,828 – –
1955 27 #2,094 – –
1950 18 #2,410 – –
1945 16 #2,217 – –
1940 21 #1,780 – –
1935 16 #2,080 – –
1930 9 #3,268 – –
1925 12 #2,900 – –
1920 18 #2,151 – –
1915 18 #1,868 – –
1910 11 #1,497 – –
1905 7 #1,658 – –
1900 10 #1,296 – –
1895 9 #1,187 – –
1890 9 #992 – –
1885 11 #687 – –
1880 7 #726 – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Patience?

The median living Patience is about 20 years old. Half of all living Patiences are between 13 and 31 years old.

How many people named Patience are alive today?

An estimated 12 thousand people named Patience are alive in the United States, based on 12,469 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Patience mean?

From patience, a virtue name first used by Puritans in the sixteenth century.

How popular is the name Patience in 2025?

Patience ranked #1,297 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 172 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Patience?

12,469 babies have been named Patience in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Patience most popular?

Patience peaked in 2006, when 508 newborns received the name.

Is Patience a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Patience rising or falling?

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

Will Patience become more popular?

Patience is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 154 girls named Patience in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Patience

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

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