Simcha
Masculine · “joy”
Simcha is given to both — 2,009 boys and 227 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Simcha is joy in Hebrew — and specifically the joy of an occasion, which is why a wedding or a bar mitzvah is itself called a simcha.
How old is the name Simcha?
Simcha first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Simcha alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 2,000 people named Simcha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Simcha most popular?
Simcha peaked in 2025, reaching #1728 nationally. Today it ranks #1728, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From samach to Simcha
The story of Simcha
Simcha has been used in Ashkenazi communities for centuries for both sexes, though it is now largely masculine. Simchat Torah, the festival at the end of the reading cycle, is the year's most exuberant. The name remains standard in Orthodox and Hasidic communities and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
joy, gladness
From the Hebrew simchah, 'joy' or 'gladness', from samach, 'to rejoice'. The word names both the emotion and the celebration that occasions it — a simcha is a happy event. Simchat Torah, the rejoicing of the Torah, uses it. The Hebrew is ordinary and undisputed.
How the name formed
- samach
- simchah
- Simcha
Related forms: שמחה · Simche · Simha
Pronouncing Simcha
SIM-khah
Two syllables, stress on the first. The ch is a throat sound English does not have and usually flattens to k or h.
Nicknames for Simcha
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
- 1956
- Most boys named
- 202594 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1728reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +27.0%94 in 2025, from 74
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.
Simcha in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- שמחה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Simche in Yiddish — related form
- Simha in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Simchas among us
people named Simcha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 18,171 born in 2025 was named Simcha
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 Tiernan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Simcha's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tiernan climbed just as high around 2007, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tiernan's path sketches the road Simcha is walking now.
Simcha is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Simcha is headed
Simcha 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.
Simcha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Simcha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The joy meaning is transparent, undisputed and about as good as meanings get.
- The word names both the feeling and the celebration, which is a genuinely nice doubling.
- It records a living naming tradition rather than a revived one.
- The Hebrew ch has no English equivalent and will be lost.
- It is used for both sexes historically, though now largely masculine.
- It is closely associated with one community's naming practice.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Simcha
Masculine · #1728 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Simchas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Simcha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Simcha in 2025?
- Simcha ranks #1728 among US boy names in 2025, with 94 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Simcha?
- About 1 in every 18,171 US boys born in 2025 was named Simcha — 94 in all.
- Will my child share the name Simcha with classmates?
- Simcha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Simcha
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Clinton#1728 · Jahir#1728 · Eder#1728 · Fredrick#1728 · Anson#1728 · Kain#1728 · Wilmer#1728 · Bentlee#1728
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Simcha? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Simcha 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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