Recorded 1895–2025 · United States
Pamela was most popular in 1954, when 27,398 American babies were given the name — ranking #27 that year. In 2025 it ranked #4,052, with 82 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 596,462 people named Pamela.
Pamela first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1895, which makes it about 130 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 120 of the 131 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 596,462 American births named Pamela between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 499,171 are estimated to be alive today.
82 American babies were named Pamela in 2025, ranking #4,052 that year.
Pamela is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 96 births a year, against 208 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -54% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Pamela is a girl’s name — 99.8% of the 596,462 Americans given it were girls and 0.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 499,171 Americans named Pamela are alive today — 84% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 66 years old, and half are between 59 and 72.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
English · coined by Philip Sidney, "all sweetness"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Pamela on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org