Is Pepper a boy or girl name?

Pepper is mostly a girl’s name. Of the 3,551 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 93.1% were girls and 6.9% were boys.

Name Legacy

Pepper

Recorded 1937–2025 · United States

Pepper was most popular in 2021, when 164 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,514 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,488, with 102 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,551 people named Pepper.

Pepper over time

Births per year. The dot marks Pepper’s peak in 2021. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Pepper a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Pepper is mostly a girl’s name — 93.1% of the 3,551 Americans given it were girls and 6.9% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 97% girls and 3% 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.

Names that peaked alongside Pepper

Where Pepper is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Pepper on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org