Meaning not yet researched.
Penny: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 368 in 2025. Its best rank was #86 in 1963.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #86 in 1963; #740 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Penny in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#740 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1963, at #86.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Penny: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 368 girls in 2025. Peak: #86 in 1963 · most girls in one year: 5,129 (1963).
In 2025, 368 US girls were named Penny, making it the 740th most common girls’ name of the year, up 8 places from #748 in 2024. That is 9 fewer than the 377 girls named Penny in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #86, reached in 1963. That year also had the most girls given the name: 5,129. For comparison, it was #759 in 2015 and #161 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Penny in 131 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1882 with 5 babies. In all, 101,003 US babies have been given the name, 99.6% of them girls and 0.4% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1960s, with 38,352 babies named Penny.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 3,878 US girls were named Penny; the busiest of those years was 2023, with 434. In 2025 that was about 1 in 4,368 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Penny ranked highest in Utah in 2025, at #178 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Penelope (109,533 babies since 1880), Pennie (5,814 babies since 1880), Penni (2,606 babies since 1880) and Penney (1,951 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Pennye, Peni and Peony are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Pennye (223), Peni (149), Peony (111), Pinny (58), Piney (36), Pennee (29).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Penny in the open dataset we use.
Penny is listed as a nickname for Penelope.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 23 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 26 | #178 | #307 |
| Idaho | 10 | #234 | #274 |
| Oregon | 9 | #423 | #778 |
| Minnesota | 12 | #452 | #742 |
| Colorado | 12 | #487 | #603 |
| Arkansas | 6 | #543 | — |
| Wisconsin | 9 | #556 | — |
| Kansas | 6 | #558 | — |
| Arizona | 11 | #622 | #486 |
| Maryland | 8 | #640 | — |
| Indiana | 10 | #640 | #755 |
| Tennessee | 12 | #640 | #911 |
| Kentucky | 7 | #642 | #496 |
| Michigan | 12 | #678 | #619 |
| Ohio | 14 | #706 | #780 |
| Massachusetts | 7 | #737 | #728 |
| Alabama | 6 | #800 | — |
| California | 35 | #853 | #681 |
| Florida | 19 | #857 | #1,106 |
| Washington | 7 | #883 | #484 |
| North Carolina | 11 | #889 | — |
| Georgia | 10 | #970 | #1,459 |
| Illinois | 9 | #991 | #1,038 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | #993 | #779 |
| New York | 15 | #1,017 | #1,197 |
| Missouri | 5 | #1,047 | #417 |
| Virginia | 6 | #1,147 | #926 |
| Texas | 22 | #1,214 | #892 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 368 | #740 | — | — |
| 2024 | 377 | #748 | — | — |
| 2023 | 434 | #676 | — | — |
| 2022 | 402 | #728 | — | — |
| 2021 | 409 | #707 | — | — |
| 2020 | 383 | #727 | — | — |
| 2019 | 362 | #770 | — | — |
| 2018 | 363 | #752 | — | — |
| 2017 | 361 | #769 | — | — |
| 2016 | 419 | #693 | — | — |
| 2015 | 372 | #759 | — | — |
| 2014 | 345 | #809 | — | — |
| 2013 | 251 | #997 | — | — |
| 2012 | 233 | #1,074 | — | — |
| 2011 | 165 | #1,391 | — | — |
| 2010 | 153 | #1,478 | — | — |
| 2009 | 105 | #1,987 | — | — |
| 2008 | 90 | #2,216 | — | — |
| 2007 | 80 | #2,385 | — | — |
| 2006 | 60 | #2,908 | — | — |
| 2005 | 51 | #3,116 | — | — |
| 2004 | 53 | #2,988 | — | — |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,332 | — | — |
| 2002 | 49 | #3,003 | — | — |
| 2001 | 38 | #3,528 | — | — |
| 2000 | 53 | #2,769 | — | — |
| 1999 | 54 | #2,633 | — | — |
| 1998 | 58 | #2,423 | — | — |
| 1997 | 63 | #2,191 | — | — |
| 1996 | 62 | #2,203 | — | — |
| 1995 | 64 | #2,118 | — | — |
| 1994 | 80 | #1,807 | — | — |
| 1993 | 88 | #1,704 | — | — |
| 1992 | 91 | #1,672 | — | — |
| 1991 | 102 | #1,532 | — | — |
| 1990 | 121 | #1,332 | — | — |
| 1989 | 158 | #1,073 | — | — |
| 1988 | 151 | #1,057 | — | — |
| 1987 | 171 | #948 | — | — |
| 1986 | 210 | #801 | — | — |
| 1985 | 270 | #671 | — | — |
| 1984 | 280 | #632 | — | — |
| 1983 | 295 | #602 | — | — |
| 1982 | 379 | #523 | — | — |
| 1981 | 482 | #445 | — | — |
| 1980 | 555 | #407 | — | — |
| 1979 | 697 | #339 | — | — |
| 1978 | 750 | #311 | — | — |
| 1977 | 856 | #279 | — | — |
| 1976 | 870 | #268 | — | — |
| 1975 | 1,027 | #235 | — | — |
| 1974 | 1,174 | #219 | 7 | #4,505 |
| 1973 | 1,471 | #184 | 11 | #3,163 |
| 1972 | 1,587 | #181 | 8 | #3,878 |
| 1971 | 2,001 | #158 | 13 | #2,775 |
| 1970 | 2,145 | #157 | 13 | #2,706 |
| 1969 | 2,360 | #142 | 10 | #3,012 |
| 1968 | 2,576 | #124 | 11 | #2,689 |
| 1967 | 2,811 | #119 | 13 | #2,323 |
| 1966 | 3,109 | #112 | 8 | #3,177 |
| 1965 | 3,898 | #97 | 11 | #2,582 |
| 1964 | 4,396 | #96 | 16 | #2,093 |
| 1963 | 5,129 | #86 | 14 | #2,278 |
| 1962 | 5,001 | #92 | 26 | #1,580 |
| 1961 | 4,638 | #101 | 10 | #2,845 |
| 1960 | 4,302 | #113 | 13 | #2,400 |
| 1959 | 3,756 | #122 | 9 | #2,984 |
| 1958 | 3,556 | #124 | 13 | #2,340 |
| 1957 | 3,044 | #138 | 8 | #3,193 |
| 1956 | 2,348 | #158 | 8 | #3,138 |
| 1955 | 2,213 | #161 | 6 | #3,785 |
| 1954 | 2,134 | #163 | 8 | #3,113 |
| 1953 | 2,153 | #157 | 13 | #2,261 |
| 1952 | 2,091 | #157 | 10 | #2,639 |
| 1951 | 2,077 | #153 | 12 | #2,341 |
| 1950 | 1,751 | #161 | — | — |
| 1949 | 1,846 | #158 | 7 | #3,226 |
| 1948 | 1,861 | #153 | — | — |
| 1947 | 2,101 | #142 | 10 | #2,625 |
| 1946 | 1,645 | #163 | 12 | #2,244 |
| 1945 | 1,131 | #183 | — | — |
| 1944 | 1,204 | #180 | 5 | #3,793 |
| 1943 | 1,203 | #184 | 7 | #3,166 |
| 1942 | 992 | #205 | 9 | #2,671 |
| 1941 | 637 | #254 | 5 | #3,882 |
| 1940 | 493 | #282 | 9 | #2,627 |
| 1939 | 380 | #318 | 7 | #3,049 |
| 1938 | 234 | #441 | 5 | #3,913 |
| 1937 | 165 | #513 | 5 | #3,893 |
| 1936 | 100 | #661 | 6 | #3,446 |
| 1935 | 74 | #790 | — | — |
| 1934 | 51 | #972 | — | — |
| 1933 | 40 | #1,120 | — | — |
| 1932 | 24 | #1,592 | — | — |
| 1931 | 30 | #1,369 | — | — |
| 1930 | 30 | #1,426 | — | — |
| 1929 | 38 | #1,219 | — | — |
| 1928 | 51 | #1,058 | — | — |
| 1927 | 47 | #1,121 | 5 | #4,654 |
| 1926 | 52 | #1,044 | — | — |
| 1925 | 69 | #893 | — | — |
| 1924 | 52 | #1,094 | — | — |
| 1923 | 68 | #894 | — | — |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,534 | — | — |
| 1921 | 34 | #1,402 | — | — |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,655 | 5 | #4,809 |
| 1919 | 32 | #1,389 | — | — |
| 1918 | 21 | #1,869 | 6 | #4,059 |
| 1917 | 15 | #2,290 | — | — |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,787 | 5 | #4,346 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,357 | 5 | #4,262 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,991 | — | — |
| 1913 | 11 | #1,997 | — | — |
| 1912 | 9 | #2,106 | — | — |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,784 | — | — |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,095 | — | — |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,472 | — | — |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,816 | — | — |
| 1907 | 6 | #2,006 | — | — |
| 1906 | 5 | #2,164 | — | — |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,509 | — | — |
| 1904 | 7 | #1,623 | — | — |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,437 | — | — |
| 1900 | 5 | #2,164 | — | — |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,786 | — | — |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,479 | — | — |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,739 | — | — |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,414 | — | — |
| 1890 | 6 | #1,313 | — | — |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,250 | — | — |
| 1882 | 5 | #1,003 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).