Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Pepper

Meaning Pepper is a given name, nickname, and surname Gender Unisex · 93% girls Rank 2025 #1,907 Trend ↓ Falling 10%

Pepper is a given name, nickname, and surname.

Rank 2025
#1,907
among girls · ↓272 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
102
named Pepper · -20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 15,758
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2021
164 babies
All-time total
3,551
#3,387 all-time among girls
First recorded
1937
in Social Security records

Pepper popularity over time

3,551 babies have been named Pepper since 1937, 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
0.030.050.080.118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – 5 5 1 – –
1940s 5 25 30 3 +500% #5,924
1950s 45 49 94 9 +213% #4,098
1960s 138 12 150 15 +60% #2,789
1970s 552 19 571 57 +281% #956
1980s 162 – 162 16 -72% #2,688
1990s 58 26 84 8 -48% #7,904
2000s 191 54 245 25 +192% #2,726
2010s 1,353 37 1,390 139 +467% #1,419
2020s (to 2025) 802 18 820 137 -2% #1,403

Where Pepper 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 100 0.06 outside top 500
2027 98 0.06 outside top 500
2028 97 0.06 outside top 500
2029 96 0.06 outside top 500
2030 95 0.06 outside top 500

Where Pepper is most popular

Girls named Pepper per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.083 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Idaho, and Oklahoma.

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 Pepper 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
Utah 40 0.481 +482%
Idaho 6 0.179 +117%
Oklahoma 11 0.149 +81%
Nevada 5 0.108 +30%
Washington 14 0.097 +17%
Florida 40 0.093 +13%
California 77 0.092 +11%
Virginia 15 0.088 +7%
Ohio 20 0.084 ≈ national
Tennessee 11 0.069 -16%
Colorado 7 0.063 -24%
Texas 48 0.060 -28%
North Carolina 13 0.057 -31%
Pennsylvania 13 0.055 -33%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -41%
Illinois 11 0.048 -42%
Missouri 5 0.041 -50%
Michigan 5 0.027 -67%
Georgia 5 0.022 -73%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
New York – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
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 Pepper

Pepper is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,907 in 2025 with 102 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1937, 3,551 American babies have been named Pepper, about 93% girls and 7% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 164 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 Pepper stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Pepper?

The median living Pepper is about 12 years old; half are between 6 and 41. An estimated 3,500 people named Pepper are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

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

Pepper 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 102 #1,907 – –
2024 127 #1,635 – –
2023 129 #1,623 5 #13,660
2022 156 #1,438 5 #13,833
2021 156 #1,403 8 #9,471
2020 132 #1,589 – –
2019 145 #1,505 – –
2018 131 #1,630 9 #8,650
2017 123 #1,736 7 #10,497
2016 136 #1,621 9 #8,641
2015 152 #1,503 – –
2014 161 #1,419 – –
2013 154 #1,456 – –
2012 135 #1,610 7 #10,480
2011 118 #1,745 – –
2010 98 #2,039 5 #13,750
2009 67 #2,726 10 #8,145
2008 30 #4,987 5 #14,090
2007 19 #7,029 – –
2006 28 #5,063 – –
2005 17 #7,072 8 #8,900
2004 8 #12,458 9 #8,008
2003 – – 6 #10,524
2002 5 #17,449 6 #10,329
2001 10 #9,921 5 #11,854
2000 7 #12,806 5 #11,696
1995 6 #12,930 9 #6,276
1990 5 #14,583 – –
1985 11 #6,334 – –
1980 35 #2,688 – –
1975 132 #956 – –
1970 15 #3,993 – –
1965 15 #3,372 – –
1960 8 #5,074 7 #3,576
1955 7 #5,081 6 #3,786
1950 – – 5 #4,067
1945 – – – –
1940 – – 6 #3,377
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Pepper

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

  1. 1 Pepper Adams Pepper Adams American jazz saxophonist (1930–1986) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Pepper?

The median living Pepper is about 12 years old. Half of all living Peppers are between 6 and 41 years old.

How many people named Pepper are alive today?

An estimated 3,500 people named Pepper are alive in the United States, based on 3,551 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Pepper mean?

Pepper is a given name, nickname, and surname.

How popular is the name Pepper in 2025?

Pepper ranked #1,907 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 102 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Pepper?

3,551 babies have been named Pepper in the United States since 1937, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Pepper most popular?

Pepper peaked in 2021, when 164 newborns received the name.

Is Pepper a boy or girl name?

Pepper is used for both: about 93% of babies named Pepper have been girls and 7% boys.

Is the name Pepper rising or falling?

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

Will Pepper become more popular?

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

Well-known people named Pepper include Pepper Adams (musician).

Names like Pepper

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

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