Conception
Feminine · “the Conception”
Conception is a Spanish devotional name written with English letters, and the English word it becomes means something the Spanish name does not. Names of this kind carry everyday short forms that look nothing like the name at all.
How old is the name Conception?
Conception first appears in US birth records in 1905 — 120 years ago. The typical Conception alive today was born around 1935, making them about 90 years old. About 300 people named Conception are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Conception most popular?
Conception peaked in 1928, reaching #1589 nationally. See the whole 1928 chart.
Where it comes from
From Concepción to Conception
The story of Conception
Spanish devotional names run through a set of short forms that a stranger cannot reverse-engineer. Concepción is Concha or Conchita. Dolores is Lola. Mercedes is Merche or Meche. Pilar is Pili. Inmaculada is Inma. Asunción is Asun or Chon. Rosario is Charo, which shares almost no letters with it at all. The short forms are old, they are used in preference to the full names in ordinary life, and several of them arose as children's approximations that stuck. The same thing happens with men's devotional names: José becomes Pepe, which is traditionally explained by an abbreviation for foster father, and Francisco becomes Paco or Curro. Somebody learning Spanish can be several years in before discovering that two people they know are the same name.
Meaning
the Conception, as a title of Mary
The Spanish Concepción refers to a specific doctrine about Mary and is a devotional name rather than a description of a child. Written in English spelling it becomes an ordinary English noun with a different range of meanings, which is a translation accident rather than a choice.
How the name formed
- Concepción
- Conception
Related forms: Concepción · Conceição · Concetta
Pronouncing Conception
kon-sep-see-OWN
Four syllables with the stress at the back in Spanish, where the accent marks it. Read as the English word it is three syllables with the stress in the middle, which is a different name.
Nicknames for Conception
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1905
- Most girls named
- 192826 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1589reached in 1928
- Change vs 1986
- 0.0%5 in 1990, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Conception in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Concepción in Spanish — same name
- Conceição in Portuguese — same name
- Concetta in Italian — related form
Conceptions among us
people named Conception are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Conception sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Concha and Connie come from the two languages and sound nothing alike.
- The devotional tradition behind it is documented and specific.
- It reads correctly on sight in Spanish once the accent is restored.
- Without the accent, English readers get both the stress and the meaning wrong.
- The English word has a clinical sense that the Spanish name does not.
- Concepcion and Concepción are both recorded and the spelling will need giving.
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What they receive
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Conception
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Conceptions are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Conception are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Conception in 2025?
- Conception is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Conception with classmates?
- Conception will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Conception? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Conception and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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