How Many People Are Named Pearl?
An estimated 25,131 people in the United States have the first name Pearl. It is predominantly female (97.6%). The average bearer is 52 years old, and Pearl peaked in popularity in 1918 with 4,622 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Pearl 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 Pearl paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Pearl is overwhelmingly female, 3,922 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
25,131
About 1 in 13,639 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
97.6% confidence
Average Age
52
years old
Peak Year
1918
4,622 births
Total Registered
162,657
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Pearl
Pearl is predominantly female (97.6%), though 3,922 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Pearl as a male name
Ranked #7,025 in 1983
5 male births in 1983
Peak: 1918 (101 births)
Pearl as a female name
Ranked #802 in 2024
350 female births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (4,521 births)
Pearl: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Pearl span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 34,520 babies were registered. Pearl has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Pearl by Decade
How has Pearl 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 11,507 | 604 | 10,903 | |
| 1890s | 19,483 | 429 | 19,054 | |
| 1900s | 21,270 | 357 | 20,913 | |
| 1910s | 34,520 | 686 | 33,834 | |
| 1920s | 33,570 | 796 | 32,774 | |
| 1930s | 13,792 | 497 | 13,295 | |
| 1940s | 8,060 | 282 | 7,778 | |
| 1950s | 4,915 | 158 | 4,757 | |
| 1960s | 2,662 | 68 | 2,594 | |
| 1970s | 1,505 | 34 | 1,471 | |
| 1980s | 1,649 | 11 | 1,638 | |
| 1990s | 1,508 | 0 | 1,508 | |
| 2000s | 2,238 | 0 | 2,238 | |
| 2010s | 4,159 | 0 | 4,159 | |
| 2020s | 1,819 | 0 | 1,819 | |
Pearl by State
Birth registrations for Pearl span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 2,052 Pearls were registered per state.
Pearl + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Pearl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Pearl
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
Pearl: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pearl?
We estimate approximately 25,131 people named Pearl 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 13,639 Americans share this first name.
Is Pearl a common name?
Pearl is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 162,657 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Pearl most popular?
Pearl reached peak popularity in 1918, when 4,622 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Pearl is approximately 52 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Pearl a female name?
Pearl is predominantly female. 97.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Pearl Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Pearl Smith, Pearl Johnson, Pearl 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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