ninan.org

Pamela

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~505,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#2,239 among girls
Births in 2025
82 596,462 since 1880
Typical age
65 years, median

Pamela popularity over time

Pamela rank by birth year, 1895–2025Pamela ranked #1,592 in 1895 and #2,239 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #10, in 1953.#10#100#1,000#2,239best #10 in 19531920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1895–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1954: 27,398 births recorded as Pamela. 1895 is the earliest year with at least five recorded births. Across the record, 39 years put Pamela in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #2,239, with 82 births that year. The ten-year change is -51%. Year on year the rank dropped by 89.

Babies named Pamela per yearPeaks at 27,398 births in 1954.27,398 in 195401920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Pamela?

An estimated 505,600 living Americans are called Pamela. That is out of 596,462 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Pamela?

Median age among living Pamelas: 65. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Pamela a mid-century name.

Your Pamela

Ages of living people named PamelaHalf of living Pamelas are older than 65 and half younger.median 65020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Pamela is most common

The name is concentrated in Texas, at 1.5× the national rate. Georgia, Florida and New York follow.

Where Pamela is used more than average5 states use the name Pamela more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 1.4× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.3× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: 1.4× the national rateGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 1.5× the national rateTXFlorida: 1.4× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Pamela is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Texas 178 1.5×
Georgia 50 1.4×
Florida 92 1.4×
New York 84 1.4×
California 178 1.3×

Pamela in England and Wales

ONS recorded 10 births named Pamela in 2025, ranking it #2,605.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Pamela comes from

Invented by Sir Philip Sidney for his pastoral poem The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (c 1593). Seemingly created from scratch; some imagine an analysis as Ancient Greek πᾶς (“all”) + μέλι (“honey”) but there is no evidence that this was intended.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Pamela

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Pamela Anderson Canadian actress and model 1967 108
Pamela Melroy American astronaut 1961 38
Pamela Adlon American actress 1966 37
Pamela Jelimo Kenyan middle distance runner 1989 32
Pamela Colman Smith British occultist, artist and illustrator 1878–1951 28
Pamela Reed American actress 1949 27
Pamela Sue Martin American actress 1953 27
Pamela Bach American actress 1963–2025 27
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 631 in 1940 to 1,475 in 1941 — 2.3 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/pamela.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).