Deborah
Deborah was the 864th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 313 babies. Its best year was 1955, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1954 (54,674). Over the last ten years it has moved down 60 places. More babies were named Deborah in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning bee · Hebrew
Say it DEB-er-uh /ˈdɛbəɹə/
- Rank in 2025
- #864 girls, up 40 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 313girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195454,674 babies
- Total since 1880
- 744,478babies recorded
What does the name Deborah mean?
Deborah is from Hebrew Devorah, the ordinary word for 'bee'. In the Book of Judges (Judges 4:4) Deborah is a prophet and judge of Israel who leads the victory over the Canaanite commander Sisera; another Deborah is Rebecca's nurse in Genesis. DMNES records Debora in Dutch records from the early 1500s, and the name came into English use after the Reformation with other Old Testament names. It was very popular in the US from the 1940s to the 1970s.
דְּבוֹרָה (Devorah) (Biblical Hebrew, “bee”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Debra, Debbie, Devorah, Debora.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Deborah', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Deborah', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Hebrew Bible, Judges 4:4 (Sefaria, with JPS translation), Sefaria
Nicknames for Deborah
The usual nicknames for Deborah are Debbie, Deb and Debby. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Deborah in the last five years, 9 were named Debbie, against 15 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debbie · also for Debra | Traditional | #5,284 | 135 |
| Deb · also for Debra | Traditional | — | — |
| Debby | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Deborahs go by each one.
Deborah popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,658 since 1939.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #864 | 313 |
| 2020 | #904 | 291 |
| 2010 | #774 | 355 |
| 2000 | #494 | 546 |
| 1990 | #262 | 1,095 |
| 1980 | #146 | 1,937 |
| 1970 | #33 | 9,845 |
| 1960 | #10 | 25,266 |
| 1950 | #7 | 29,063 |
| 1940 | #291 | 470 |
| 1930 | #529 | 165 |
| 1920 | #799 | 82 |
| 1910 | #740 | 33 |
| 1900 | #707 | 26 |
| 1890 | #540 | 24 |
| 1880 | #499 | 12 |
How popular is Deborah, counting every spelling?
Deborah is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #724 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #864 for Deborah on its own. Together these spellings went to 391 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah | 313 | #864 | 1,493 |
| Debora | 78 | #2,336 | 446 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Deborah?
313 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Deborah (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Deborah born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 27 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Deborah.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Deborah?
About 600,900 people born in the US named Deborah are alive today, with a median age of 69; half are between 62 and 73. That makes Deborah a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Deborah by state
How common Deborah was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (2.7×), Indiana (2.5×), Maryland (2.1×), Florida (2.0×), New Jersey (2.0×). In 24 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Deborah: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Deborah, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Deborah · Sibling names for Deborah
Questions about the name Deborah
What does Deborah mean?
Deborah means “bee” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Deborah?
Deborah was the 864th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 313 babies. Its best year was 1955, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1954 (54,674). Over the last ten years it has moved down 60 places. More babies were named Deborah in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Deborah a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Deborah in the US.
Where is Deborah most popular?
In 2021–2025, Deborah was most common in Massachusetts (0.50 per 1,000 girls), followed by Indiana and Maryland.