Girl
Feminine · “Middle English girle”
Girl used to mean a child of either sex. In Middle English a girl was a young person, and a male one could be specified as a knave girl. The narrowing to females happened over the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the word's origin before that is unknown, which is unusual for a word so common.
How old is the name Girl?
Girl first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Girl alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 600 people named Girl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Girl most popular?
Girl peaked in 1999, reaching #3569 nationally. Today it ranks #8860, 5,291 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From girle to Girl
Our story of Girl
Our reading is that placeholder entries in the birth data are worth explaining rather than passing over. When a birth is registered before a name is chosen, hospitals and registrars enter a placeholder: Girl, Baby, Babygirl, Unknown, or the surname with a sex marker. Most are amended within weeks. Some are not, and those become the legal name of a person who then carries it. The Social Security data records what the certificate says, so these entries appear as names with real counts attached, and they cluster in the years when the practice was most common. The people involved usually go by something else and the name surfaces only on documents. It is a small reminder that the birth record is an administrative artifact as well as a cultural one, and that not every name in it was chosen by anyone.
Meaningscholars disagree
Middle English girle, a child of either sex
The word appears in Middle English meaning a young person of either sex and narrows to females by the late medieval period. Its earlier origin is not established; connections to Low German and to an Old English form have been proposed without success. In the American birth data, entries recorded as Girl are almost entirely hospital placeholders that were never replaced, and they are legally the bearer's name. It peaks in 1999.
How the name formed
- girle
- Girl
Pronouncing Girl
gurl
One syllable, identical to the common noun. There is no competing reading.
Nicknames for Girl
Limited
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
- 1985
- Most girls named
- 202135 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3569reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- −35.3%11 in 2025, from 17
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.
Girl in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: North Dakota, Georgia, Missouri.
Girls among us
people named Girl are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 146,115 born in 2025 was named Girl
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 Arcadia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Girl's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Arcadia climbed just as high around 1932, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Arcadia's path sketches the road Girl is walking now.
Girl 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
Girl beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Girl in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The word is universally understood.
- It is short and unmistakable.
- The medieval history of the word is genuinely interesting.
- Most entries of this kind are administrative placeholders rather than chosen names.
- It is a common noun and will be read as one.
- Anyone carrying it will be asked about it constantly.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Girl 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 Girl? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Girl
Feminine · #8860 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Girls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Girl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Girl in 2025?
- Girl ranks #8860 among US girl names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Girl?
- About 1 in every 146,115 US girls born in 2025 was named Girl — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Girl with classmates?
- Girl will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Girl
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lida#8860 · Lauretta#8860 · Dot#8860 · Bonita#8860 · Benita#8860 · Trixie#8860 · Adna#8860 · Sue#8860
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Girl? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Girl 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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