Promise

#823 for girls in 2025, 330 births · #5,208 for boys in 2025, 18 births
Given to girls 94.0% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
2023 · 395 births
Debut · girls
5 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
6,426
since 1975

Promise over time

girlsboys

Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202017girlsat peakboysat peak
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#823330#5,20818
2024#819337#4,70121
2023#714395#4,00227
2022#779365#3,15138
2021#730390#5,11018
2020#852319#4,02025
2019#843320#3,89927
2018#909295#5,32017
2017#1,058242#4,59421
2016#1,171215#7,60510
2015#1,068246#5,05818
2014#1,040249#7,04811
2013#1,116218#5,40416
2012#1,162211#8,1589
2011#1,127217#8,0799
2010#1,130217#5,04718
2009#1,228203#6,09514
2008#1,238203#6,07014
2007#1,354179#7,59010
2006#1,480149#7,42710
2005#1,704116#7,6409
2004#1,781107#7,5369
2003#1,87498#7,8318
2002#2,35268#7,6438
2001#1,79599#9,2436
2000#2,15874#9,1126
1999#2,40561#9,9125
1998#2,33860—
1997#2,32857—
1996#2,96640—
1995#2,68745#8,8685
1994#2,93540—
1993#4,10025—
1992#4,84920#8,4355
1991#6,97612—
1990#6,86712—
1989#7,44910—
1988#5,06516—
1987#3,98321—
1986#6,61210—
1985#3,62123—
1984#6,29110—
1983#4,28617—
1982#6,37110—
1981#4,74615—
1980#5,91211—
1979#6,18910—
1978#5,95810—
1977#4,42515—
1976#6,0489—
1975#9,0675—
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First appearance
1975

The first year at least five girls were named Promise! It came in at #9,067, and was given to 5 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1975, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

Where Promise is popular in 2017

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMNIllinois: #1,250 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 7,935 girlsILWisconsin: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedWIMichigan: #663 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 3,439 girlsMINew York: #1,590 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 11,000 girlsNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedIAIndiana: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedINOhio: #724 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 3,983 girlsOHPennsylvania: #949 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 5,682 girlsPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #1,881 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 16,313 girlsCAUtah: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedUTColorado: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedCONebraska: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNEMissouri: #821 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 4,329 girlsMOKentucky: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedWVVirginia: #603 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 3,003 girlsVAMaryland: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedDEArizona: #1,083 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 6,014 girlsAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedKSArkansas: #580 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 2,247 girlsARTennessee: #565 for girls · 12 births · 1 in 2,550 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #574 for girls · 16 births · 1 in 2,836 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #744 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 3,551 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #237 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 694 girlsDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedOKLouisiana: #829 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 3,977 girlsLAMississippi: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedMSAlabama: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedALGeorgia: #449 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 2,049 girlsGAHawaii: fewer than 5 girls named Promise, so not publishedHITexas: #1,290 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 8,414 girlsTXFlorida: #683 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 3,737 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. District of Columbia#237 · 1 in 694
  2. Georgia#449 · 1 in 2,049
  3. Tennessee#565 · 1 in 2,550
  4. North Carolina#574 · 1 in 2,836
  5. Arkansas#580 · 1 in 2,247

Best ever in a state: #170 in District of Columbia, 2022.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
District of Columbia#23751 in 694
Georgia#449231 in 2,049
Tennessee#565121 in 2,550
North Carolina#574161 in 2,836
Arkansas#58051 in 2,247
Virginia#603121 in 3,003
Michigan#663121 in 3,439
Florida#683231 in 3,737
Ohio#724131 in 3,983
South Carolina#74451 in 3,551
Missouri#82161 in 4,329
Louisiana#82951 in 3,977
Pennsylvania#94991 in 5,682
Arizona#1,08351 in 6,014
Illinois#1,25071 in 7,935
Texas#1,290191 in 8,414
New York#1,59081 in 11,000
California#1,881121 in 16,313
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Promise
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 4 spots since 2024 (#819 → #823)
  • 29 spots since 2020 (#852 → #823)
  • 245 spots since 2015 (#1,068 → #823)
  • Biggest jump: 149 spots in 2018 (#1,058 → #909)
  • Biggest drop: 105 spots in 2024 (#714 → #819)
Rise & fade · girls
48 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1975
  • Peaked 2023 at #714 (395 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 8 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 8 yrs · run 2018–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 4,062
  • Highest: 1 in 4,062 girls born in 2023 were named Promise (0.02%)
  • Latest: 1 in 4,871 girls born in 2025 (0.02%)
Era · girls
The 2010s
  • 37.8% of all girls named Promise (2,430) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Never flipped
  • The majority has never changed
all girlsall boys
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1970s49#4,425 (1977)#6,337
1980s143#3,621 (1985)#5,434
1990s372#2,328 (1997)#3,845
2000s1,296#1,228 (2009)#1,696
2010s2,430#843 (2019)#1,062
2020s2,136#714 (2023)#786

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.

Promise in 2017

girls
#1,058
242 births · 1 in 7,134 girls
boys
#4,594
21 births · 1 in 88,141 boys

Top girls' names in 2017

  1. #1Emma19,873
  2. #2Olivia18,778
  3. #3Ava16,017
  4. #4Isabella15,263
  5. #5Sophia14,947
  6. #6Mia13,521
  7. #7Charlotte12,969
  8. #8Amelia11,870
  9. #9Evelyn10,748
  10. #10Abigail10,645
  11. #1,058Promise242

Top boys' names in 2017

  1. #1Liam18,874
  2. #2Noah18,507
  3. #3William15,046
  4. #4James14,362
  5. #5Logan14,061
  6. #6Benjamin13,858
  7. #7Mason13,602
  8. #8Elijah13,449
  9. #9Jacob13,269
  10. #10Oliver13,224
  11. #4,594Promise21
More about 2017

girls

1,726,461 girls got a published name in 2017; 1 in 7,134 of them was named Promise, which outranked 94.3% of the 18,448 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.4% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Promise
  1. #1,055Giavanna243
  2. #1,055Sailor243
  3. #1,055Sharon243
  4. #1,058Promise242
  5. #1,058Addalyn242
  6. #1,058Alianna242
  7. #1,058Aubrianna242
  8. #1,065Kensington241
  9. #1,065Lincoln241
  10. #1,067Micaela240

Tied with 6 names at #1,058; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2016
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,443Ensley#2,412 → #969
  2. ↑ 1,020Oaklynn#1,908 → #888
  3. ↑ 842Dream#1,667 → #825
  4. ↑ 749Oaklyn#1,425 → #676
  5. ↑ 717Melania#1,649 → #932
Fallers
  1. ↓ 263Julianne#919 → #1,182
  2. ↓ 243Milania#947 → #1,190
  3. ↓ 240Wendy#858 → #1,098
  4. ↓ 238Montserrat#808 → #1,046
  5. ↓ 224Nathaly#930 → #1,154

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

boys

1,850,956 boys got a published name in 2017; 1 in 88,141 of them was named Promise, which outranked 67.8% of the 14,262 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.0% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Promise
  1. #4,466Zaylan22
  2. #4,466Zayvier22
  3. #4,466Zubair22
  4. #4,594Promise21
  5. #4,594Adarius21
  6. #4,594Adi21
  7. #4,594Ahil21
  8. #4,746Abdelrahman20
  9. #4,746Abdurahman20
  10. #4,746Ahkeem20

Tied with 151 names at #4,594; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2016
Risers
  1. ↑ 497Wells#1,413 → #916
  2. ↑ 419Kairo#1,221 → #802
  3. ↑ 339Caspian#1,199 → #860
  4. ↑ 313Colson#1,049 → #736
  5. ↑ 311Kace#1,183 → #872
Fallers
  1. ↓ 415Riaan#861 → #1,276
  2. ↓ 292Chevy#980 → #1,272
  3. ↓ 245Kylo#904 → #1,149
  4. ↓ 226Braeden#993 → #1,219
  5. ↓ 194Kamdyn#809 → #1,003

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

See the top 100 for 2017 →