Deborah
Hebrew Devorah, “bee,” borne by the prophetess and judge.
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Old Testament judge and prophetess; in the 1950s this spelling and Debra both sat in the top 10 at once.
Deborah appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1947 to 1976. It spent 13 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1954, when 54,674 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 3 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1955, at No. 2. In 2025 it ranked No. 862 for girls. All told, 744,478 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Debra (551,841), Debora (30,161), Debrah (4,404), Debbra (3,652), Debera (1,252), Deborrah (942) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Debbie
Explore Deborah interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 143 | No. 447 |
| 1890s | 183 | No. 538 |
| 1900s | 226 | No. 699 |
| 1910s | 651 | No. 644 |
| 1920s | 1,070 | No. 534 |
| 1930s | 2,808 | No. 293 |
| 1940s | 44,054 | No. 15 |
| 1950s | 430,537 | No. 2 |
| 1960s | 183,439 | No. 9 |
| 1970s | 47,855 | No. 33 |
| 1980s | 14,783 | No. 146 |
| 1990s | 7,574 | No. 262 |
| 2000s | 4,284 | No. 493 |
| 2010s | 3,429 | No. 752 |
| 2020s | 1,784 | No. 852 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.