December
Feminine · “the tenth month”
December is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,608 girls against 11 boys since 1880.
December still carries the number ten in its first syllable, and it has been the twelfth month for more than two thousand years. The Roman calendar began in March, which made December the tenth; when January and February were added at the front, the last four months kept their old numbers and have been wrong ever since. As a girls' name it is rare and modern, with an American peak in 1979.
How old is the name December?
December first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical December alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 1,600 people named December are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name December most popular?
December peaked in 1979, reaching #2724 nationally. Today it ranks #5722, 2,998 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From decem to December
The story of December
Month names became usable as English given names in a specific order and for specific reasons. April, May and June came first and are much the most common, because all three double as ordinary words or as existing names. August followed on boys, helped by Augustus. Autumn arrived in the 1970s as a season rather than a month. The winter months came last and stayed rare: January, November and December appear on American birth certificates in small numbers from the 1960s onward, usually chosen for the association with a season or a birth date rather than for any tradition. December's peak in 1979 is at the front edge of the general fashion for word names that also produced Winter, Autumn and Sky.
Meaning
the tenth month
Latin december is built on decem, 'ten', with the -ber ending shared by September, October and November — an ending whose own origin is disputed but which marks all four as ordinal month names. The Roman year originally began in March, so December was genuinely the tenth month. The reform that added Ianuarius and Februarius at the front is traditionally credited to Numa Pompilius and left the four numbered months permanently misnamed. Nothing here is contested except the -ber.
How the name formed
- decem
- december
- December
Related forms: Diciembre · Dicembre · Decembre
Pronouncing December
dih-SEM-ber
Three syllables, stress in the middle, exactly as the ordinary month name. Nobody has to be taught it, and there is no competing saying anywhere in English.
Nicknames for December
High
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
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 201246 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2724reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- −16.0%21 in 2025, from 25
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.
December in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Diciembre in Spanish — related form
- Dicembre in Italian — related form
- Decembre in French — related form
Decembers among us
people named December are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 76,537 born in 2025 was named December
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Derenda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. December's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Derenda climbed just as high around 1956, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Derenda's path sketches the road December is walking now.
December sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
December beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to December in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It never needs to be spelled, because every English speaker already writes it.
- Ember and Dee are both available inside it as short forms that stand alone.
- The Latin history behind it is genuinely interesting and easy to tell in a sentence.
- It appears in every calendar and every date, so the name is constantly in unrelated sentences.
- It ties a bearer to a particular month whether or not she was born in it.
- Three syllables and an everyday word together make the name conspicuous.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put December to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on December? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
December
Feminine · #5722 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Decembers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named December are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name December in 2025?
- December ranks #5722 among US girl names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name December?
- About 1 in every 76,537 US girls born in 2025 was named December — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name December with classmates?
- December will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside December
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rosina#5722 · Delores#5722 · Vaughn#5722 · Roseline#5722 · Loyal#5722 · Missy#5722 · Danitza#5722 · Margret#5722
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles December? See the current top 100.
Choosing between December and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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