Promise
Feminine · “promise”
Promise is given to both — 6,426 girls and 412 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Promise is the English word itself, worn as a name. Behind it sits the Latin promittere — pro-, "forward," plus mittere, "to send" — something sent out ahead of itself; it reached English through Old French in the Middle Ages. Said aloud it is two clean beats, and there is nothing in it a stranger has to be taught.
How old is the name Promise?
Promise first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Promise is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 6,400 people named Promise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Promise most popular?
Promise peaked in 2023, reaching #714 nationally. Today it ranks #823, 109 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Promise appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Latin promittere to Promise
The story of Promise
English speakers have been taking abstract nouns as given names since the Reformation, when Faith, Hope, Charity, Mercy, Grace and Constance moved from the sermon into the baptismal register. Promise belongs to that family but arrived very late in it, showing up in American birth records only in the last half-century and staying at a modest, level presence ever since. It is also well established in Nigeria among English-speaking Christian families, where it is given to boys and girls alike — so in much of the wider English-speaking world it reads as a unisex name, while US records carry it overwhelmingly for girls.
Meaning
promise — a pledge, something declared beforehand
From Latin promissum, the neuter past participle of promittere, "to send forth, to pledge," which came into English by way of Old French.
How the name formed
- Latin promittere
- Latin promissum
- Old French promesse
- Middle English promisse
- Promise
Pronouncing Promise
PROM-iss
Exactly like the everyday word: stress on the first syllable, a soft s at the end. No one will ask twice.
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
- 1975
- Most girls named
- 2023395 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #714reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −2.1%330 in 2025, from 337
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.
Promise in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Georgia, Florida, Texas.
Promises among us
people named Promise are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,871 born in 2025 was named Promise
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Promise
- #823
- Promise on the 2025 chart
- #610
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Promise went to 330 girls in 2025, but Promyse is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 374, which makes it the 610th most-given girls’ name of the year — 213 places above the chart.
- Promise330
- Promyse44
About 1 girl in 4,298 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 4,871 for Promise itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ines test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Promise's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ines climbed just as high around 1916, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ines's path sketches the road Promise is walking now.
Promise 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
Where Promise is headed
Promise should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Promise beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Promise in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can already spell it and say it — it is a word in daily English, so there is no correcting at the doctor's office or the coffee counter.
- Sits in a long documented English tradition of virtue names alongside Faith, Hope, Grace and Mercy, which gives it company without giving it a twin.
- Travels well across the English-speaking world; it is a familiar given name in Nigeria as well as the United States.
- Its recent, level presence in US records means a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Word names invite comment. "Promises, promises" and "you promised" are the jokes that will arrive, most often from adults rather than other children, and most often only once each.
- There is no established short form. Prom is unfortunate for American school reasons, and nothing else has caught on, so this is a name used in full — worth knowing if you like having a nickname in reserve.
- Because it is common for boys in Nigeria and for girls in US records, some people will read it as unisex and some will not. Neither reading is wrong, and both are easy to live with once you expect the question.
- It is rare enough that a Promise will usually be the only one in the room. For some families that is the whole appeal; for others it means being noticed before being known.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Promise to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Promise
Feminine · #823 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Promises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,400 people named Promise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Promise?
- Promise is the most-used spelling in US records — 330 of the 374 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Promyse.
- How popular is the name Promise in 2025?
- Promise ranks #823 among US girl names in 2025, with 330 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Promise?
- About 1 in every 4,871 US girls born in 2025 was named Promise — 330 in all.
- Will my child share the name Promise with classmates?
- Promise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Promise
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nyomi#823 · Aliya#823 · Jessie#823 · Keyla#821 · Nola#821 · Julietta#819 · Celina#827 · Amelie#827
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Promise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Promise and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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