first name
PEARL
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 30,561 people named Pearl, 55.3% reported their origin as White, 22.1% as Black and 9.8% as Hispanic or Latino. 98.5% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Pearl peaked in 1918, when 4,622 babies got the name.
At least 163,010 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Pearl by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1890s, when it ranked #38. The largest share of babies named Pearl, 50.4%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Pearl is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Pearl has been most common in North Dakota (2.4×), West Virginia (2.2×), and South Carolina (2×), and least common in California (0.45×).
104,951 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Pearl
Spelled almost the same
4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Pearl, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Pearl ranks #4,750 of 156,621, with 7,222 people. See Pearl as a last name
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