How Many People Are Named Pamela?
An estimated 445,229 people in the United States have the first name Pamela. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #98 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 63 years old, and Pamela peaked in popularity in 1954 with 27,399 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Dennis (441,864).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Pamela as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Pamela paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Pamela is overwhelmingly female, 1,386 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Pamela has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
445,229
About 1 in 770 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
63
years old
Peak Year
1954
27,399 births
Total Registered
596,378
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Pamela
Pamela is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 596,378 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Pamela as a male name
Ranked #12,726 in 2004
5 male births in 2004
Peak: 1963 (63 births)
Pamela as a female name
Ranked #2,161 in 2024
88 female births in 2024
Peak: 1954 (27,362 births)
Pamela: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Pamela span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 237,772 babies were registered. Pamela has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Pamela by Decade
How has Pamela tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 11 | 0 | 11 | |
| 1900s | 11 | 0 | 11 | |
| 1910s | 150 | 0 | 150 | |
| 1920s | 627 | 0 | 627 | |
| 1930s | 1,873 | 0 | 1,873 | |
| 1940s | 73,299 | 178 | 73,121 | |
| 1950s | 237,772 | 377 | 237,395 | |
| 1960s | 182,400 | 462 | 181,938 | |
| 1970s | 58,266 | 228 | 58,038 | |
| 1980s | 25,845 | 101 | 25,744 | |
| 1990s | 8,428 | 35 | 8,393 | |
| 2000s | 5,260 | 5 | 5,255 | |
| 2010s | 1,916 | 0 | 1,916 | |
| 2020s | 520 | 0 | 520 | |
Pamela by State
Birth registrations for Pamela span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Ohio, New York. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada. On average, about 11,613 Pamelas were registered per state.
Pamela + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Pamela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Pamela
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Pamela: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pamela?
We estimate approximately 445,229 people named Pamela are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 770 Americans share this first name.
Is Pamela a common name?
Pamela is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 596,378 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Pamela most popular?
Pamela reached peak popularity in 1954, when 27,399 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Pamela is approximately 63 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Pamela a female name?
Pamela is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Pamela Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Pamela Smith, Pamela Johnson, Pamela Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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