Penny

#740 for girls in 2025, 368 births · Last seen for boys in 1974 at #4,190
Given to girls 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1963 · 5,129 births
Debut · girls
5 births
In top 100 · girls
4 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
100,619
since 1882

Penny over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201882peak #86, 1963girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#740368—
2024#747377—
2023#676434—
2022#726402—
2021#704409—
2020#725383—
2019#768362—
2018#751363—
2017#768361—
2016#692419—
2015#757372—
2014#808345—
2013#996251—
2012#1,071233—
2011#1,382165—
2010#1,474153—
2009#1,979105—
2008#2,20690—
2007#2,36880—
2006#2,88760—
2005#3,08151—
2004#2,96553—
2003#3,29144—
2002#2,97649—
2001#3,48638—
2000#2,74053—
1999#2,61054—
1998#2,39858—
1997#2,17463—
1996#2,17762—
1995#2,10164—
1994#1,79880—
1993#1,69488—
1992#1,66191—
1991#1,517102—
1990#1,330121—
1989#1,067158—
1988#1,053151—
1987#947171—
1986#800210—
1985#670270—
1984#632280—
1983#602295—
1982#522379—
1981#445482—
1980#407555—
1979#339697—
1978#311750—
1977#279856—
1976#268870—
1975#2351,027—
1974#2191,174#4,1907
1973#1841,471#3,01311
1972#1801,587#3,6228
1971#1582,001#2,68613
1970#1572,145#2,62113
1969#1422,360#2,86110
1968#1242,576#2,57611
1967#1192,811#2,24213
1966#1123,109#2,9868
1965#973,898#2,47611
1964#964,396#2,04016
1963#865,129#2,20014
1962#925,001#1,54626
1961#1014,638#2,70610
1960#1134,302#2,31513
1959#1223,756#2,8219
1958#1243,556#2,26513
1957#1383,044#3,0248
1956#1582,348#2,9698
1955#1612,213#3,5056
1954#1632,134#2,9428
1953#1572,153#2,18613
1952#1572,091#2,51410
1951#1532,077#2,24612
1950#1611,751—
1949#1581,846#3,0197
1948#1531,861—
1947#1422,101#2,49810
1946#1631,645#2,14312
1945#1831,131—
1944#1801,204#3,4305
1943#1841,203#2,9647
1942#205992#2,5239
1941#254637#3,5055
1940#282493#2,4789
1939#317380#2,8297
1938#439234#3,5345
1937#510165#3,5185
1936#660100#3,1476
1935#78574—
1934#96651—
1933#1,10240—
1932#1,56824—
1931#1,33630—
1930#1,40330—
1929#1,21238—
1928#1,05151—
1927#1,10847#4,2105
1926#1,03252—
1925#89069—
1924#1,08652—
1923#88968—
1922#1,50830—
1921#1,37434—
1920#1,62626#4,2865
1919#1,36932—
1918#1,80521#3,7286
1917#2,20415—
1916#1,73920#3,8975
1915#2,25513#3,8255
1914#1,89613—
1913#1,88311—
1912#1,9819—
1911#2,4635—
1910#1,9357—
1909#2,2085—
1908#1,6767—
1907#1,8216—
1906#1,9515—
1905#1,4208—
1904#1,4867—
1903——
1902——
1901#1,3397—
1900#1,9325—
1899#1,5965—
1898#1,3797—
1897#1,5555—
1896——
1895——
1894——
1893——
1892#1,2786—
1891——
1890#1,2106—
1889——
1888#1,1366—
1887——
1886——
1885——
1884——
1883——
1882#9085—
1881——
1880——
First appearance
1882

The first year at least five girls were named Penny! It came in at #908, and was given to 5 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1882–1887, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

Where Penny is popular in 1882

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

See more about Penny
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 7 spots since 2024 (#747 → #740)
  • 15 spots since 2020 (#725 → #740)
  • 17 spots since 2015 (#757 → #740)
  • Biggest jump: 619 spots in 1923 (#1,508 → #889)
  • Biggest drop: 197 spots in 1924 (#889 → #1,086)
Rise & fade · girls
81 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1882
  • Peaked 1963 at #86 (5,129 births)
  • Births halved by 1969, 6 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 4 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 4 yrs · run 1962–1965
  • Top 1,000: 70 yrs · run 1934–1987
Share of babies · girls
1 in 376
  • Highest: 1 in 376 girls born in 1963 were named Penny (0.27%)
  • Latest: 1 in 4,368 girls born in 2025 (0.02%)
Era · girls
The 1960s
  • 38.0% of all girls named Penny (38,220) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s11#908 (1882)#1,022
1890s29#1,210 (1890)#1,404
1900s50#1,339 (1901)#1,729
1910s146#1,369 (1919)#1,953
1920s467#889 (1923)#1,178
1930s1,128#317 (1939)#909
1940s13,113#142 (1947)#190
1950s25,123#122 (1959)#149
1960s38,220#86 (1963)#108
1970s12,578#157 (1970)#233
1980s2,951#407 (1980)#715
1990s783#1,330 (1990)#1,946
2000s623#1,979 (2009)#2,798
2010s3,024#692 (2016)#947
2020s2,373#676 (2023)#720

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Penny in 1882

girls
#908
5 births · 1 in 21,569 girls

Top girls' names in 1882

  1. #1Mary8,148
  2. #2Anna3,143
  3. #3Emma2,303
  4. #4Elizabeth2,186
  5. #5Minnie2,004
  6. #6Margaret1,821
  7. #7Ida1,673
  8. #8Alice1,542
  9. #9Bertha1,508
  10. #10Annie1,492
  11. #908Penny5
More about 1882

girls

107,847 girls got a published name in 1882; 1 in 21,569 of them was named Penny, which outranked 11.7% of the 1,028 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Penny
  1. #813Zelda6
  2. #813Zena6
  3. #813Zita6
  4. #908Penny5
  5. #908Affie5
  6. #908Albert5
  7. #908Albertha5

Tied with 120 names at #908; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1881
Risers
  1. ↑ 380Clementine#740 → #360
  2. ↑ 337Lissie#830 → #493
  3. ↑ 323Lonnie#830 → #507
  4. ↑ 300Erna#830 → #530
  5. ↑ 300Hedwig#830 → #530
Fallers
  1. ↓ 405Leatha#503 → #908
  2. ↓ 369Grayce#539 → #908
  3. ↓ 369Maye#539 → #908
  4. ↓ 369Rella#539 → #908
  5. ↓ 326Honora#582 → #908

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1882 →