Unisex name ★ peaked 1986

Whitney

Gender Unisex · 94% girls Rank 2025 #1,046 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

Whitney or Whittney is both a masculine and a feminine given name.

Rank 2025
#1,046
among girls · ↑5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
251
named Whitney
How common
1 in 6,753
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1986
9,781 babies
All-time total
103,657
#383 all-time among girls
First recorded
1884
in Social Security records

Whitney popularity over time

103,657 babies have been named Whitney since 1884, 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – 17 17 2 – –
1890s – 21 21 2 +24% –
1900s – 59 59 6 +181% –
1910s – 334 334 33 +466% –
1920s – 434 434 43 +30% –
1930s 30 327 357 36 -18% #2,442
1940s 95 416 511 51 +43% #2,955
1950s 122 507 629 63 +23% #2,406
1960s 2,147 786 2,933 293 +366% #543
1970s 5,003 834 5,837 584 +99% #254
1980s 44,373 1,629 46,002 4,600 +688% #32
1990s 32,886 302 33,188 3,319 -28% #60
2000s 7,182 146 7,328 733 -78% #271
2010s 4,323 92 4,415 442 -40% #519
2020s (to 2025) 1,502 90 1,592 265 -40% #941

Where Whitney 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 232 0.14 outside top 500
2027 228 0.14 outside top 500
2028 224 0.14 outside top 500
2029 221 0.14 outside top 500
2030 218 0.14 outside top 500

Where Whitney is most popular

Girls named Whitney per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.151 per 1,000. Strongest in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maine.

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 Whitney 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
Massachusetts 44 0.364 +140%
Minnesota 36 0.334 +120%
Maine 5 0.323 +113%
Utah 26 0.312 +106%
Pennsylvania 63 0.266 +76%
Missouri 31 0.257 +70%
Michigan 45 0.247 +63%
New York 85 0.215 +42%
Ohio 49 0.207 +36%
New Jersey 36 0.199 +32%
Louisiana 17 0.194 +28%
Wisconsin 20 0.194 +28%
Virginia 33 0.194 +28%
Illinois 41 0.179 +18%
Indiana 24 0.171 +13%
Florida 71 0.166 +10%
North Carolina 36 0.158 ≈ national
Texas 107 0.133 -12%
California 110 0.131 -14%
Nevada 6 0.129 -15%
Georgia 27 0.119 -22%
Iowa 6 0.103 -32%
Connecticut 5 0.086 -43%
Oregon 5 0.077 -49%
Washington 10 0.069 -54%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -55%
Kentucky 5 0.058 -61%
Maryland 5 0.047 -69%
Tennessee 6 0.038 -75%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
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 Whitney

Whitney is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,046 in 2025 with 238 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1884, 103,657 American babies have been named Whitney, about 94% girls and 6% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1986, when 9,781 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

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

How old are people named Whitney?

The median living Whitney is about 36 years old; half are between 31 and 39. An estimated 100 thousand people named Whitney are alive in the United States today.

median 36 020406080100

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

Whitney 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 238 #1,046 13 #6,782
2024 238 #1,051 13 #6,808
2023 262 #982 16 #5,899
2022 245 #1,047 16 #5,852
2021 246 #1,034 21 #4,768
2020 273 #941 11 #7,472
2019 303 #888 8 #9,689
2018 299 #902 8 #9,626
2017 328 #830 13 #6,651
2016 375 #761 12 #7,126
2015 446 #640 7 #10,578
2014 463 #622 15 #5,982
2013 482 #591 9 #8,743
2012 523 #562 5 #14,130
2011 563 #519 5 #14,243
2010 541 #544 10 #8,104
2009 595 #508 9 #8,953
2008 543 #570 8 #9,825
2007 533 #564 11 #7,560
2006 564 #535 19 #4,853
2005 652 #471 11 #7,077
2004 676 #450 24 #3,857
2003 675 #445 15 #5,254
2002 851 #350 15 #5,121
2001 899 #342 11 #6,429
2000 1,194 #271 23 #3,633
1995 2,780 #115 26 #2,843
1990 5,905 #60 77 #1,269
1985 3,832 #73 236 #572
1980 1,169 #219 141 #740
1975 412 #458 64 #1,041
1970 351 #539 79 #904
1965 296 #553 87 #802
1960 29 #2,194 52 #1,081
1955 10 #4,063 53 #1,046
1950 15 #2,776 44 #1,073
1945 9 #3,381 44 #970
1940 10 #2,955 50 #902
1935 – – 32 #1,193
1930 – – 46 #1,020
1925 – – 41 #1,107
1920 – – 60 #895
1915 – – 45 #940
1910 – – 11 #1,043
1905 – – 5 #1,416
1900 – – 7 #1,157
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Whitney

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

  1. 1 Whitney Houston Whitney Houston American singer and actress (1963–2012) Contemporary
  2. 2 Whitney Cummings Whitney Cummings American actress, writer (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Whitney Port Whitney Port American actor and fashion designer b. 1985 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Whitney Thompson Whitney Thompson American plus-size model (born 1987) Contemporary
  5. 5 Whitney Smith Whitney Smith American vexillologist (1940–2016) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Whitney?

The median living Whitney is about 36 years old. Half of all living Whitneys are between 31 and 39 years old.

How many people named Whitney are alive today?

An estimated 100 thousand people named Whitney are alive in the United States, based on 103,657 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Whitney mean?

Whitney or Whittney is both a masculine and a feminine given name.

How popular is the name Whitney in 2025?

Whitney ranked #1,046 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 238 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Whitney?

103,657 babies have been named Whitney in the United States since 1884, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Whitney most popular?

Whitney peaked in 1986, when 9,781 newborns received the name.

Is Whitney a boy or girl name?

Whitney is used for both: about 94% of babies named Whitney have been girls and 6% boys.

Is the name Whitney rising or falling?

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

Will Whitney become more popular?

Whitney is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 218 girls named Whitney 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 Whitney?

Well-known people named Whitney include Whitney Houston (singer), Whitney Cummings (actor), Whitney Port (model).

Names like Whitney

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

Compare Whitney with similar names → More names starting with W →