Pamela
Pamela was the 2251st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 82 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1954 (27,361). Over the last ten years it has moved down 849 places. More babies were named Pamela in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning coined by Philip Sidney (meaning unknown) · English
Say it PAM-uh-luh /ˈpæmələ/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,251 girls, down 577 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 82girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195427,361 babies
- Total since 1880
- 596,462babies recorded
What does the name Pamela mean?
Pamela was invented by the poet Sir Philip Sidney for a character in his pastoral romance Arcadia (around 1590), as Wiktionary notes. It seems to have been made up from scratch: some analyze it as Greek pan 'all' and meli 'honey', but there is no evidence Sidney meant that. Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela (1740) made it a real given name, and it was common in the US and Britain in the mid-20th century.
How sure is this? Well established. The coinage is documented; any meaning is speculative.
Other explanations you may read: Greek 'all honey' (pan + meli).
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Pamela', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Pamela
The usual nicknames for Pamela are Pam and Pammy.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pam | Traditional | — | — |
| Pammy | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Pamelas go by each one.
Pamela popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,386 since 1941.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,251 | 82 |
| 2020 | #1,674 | 123 |
| 2010 | #984 | 258 |
| 2000 | #458 | 607 |
| 1990 | #238 | 1,194 |
| 1980 | #86 | 3,533 |
| 1970 | #26 | 12,907 |
| 1960 | #14 | 22,092 |
| 1950 | #17 | 16,202 |
| 1940 | #251 | 631 |
| 1930 | #725 | 94 |
| 1920 | #1,618 | 27 |
| 1910 | #2,704 | 5 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Pamela, counting every spelling?
Pamela has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Pamela?
82 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Pamela (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Pamela 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 102 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Pamela.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Pamela?
About 486,500 people born in the US named Pamela are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 59 and 72. That makes Pamela 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.
Pamela by state
How common Pamela was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New York (1.5×). In 42 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 Pamela: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Pamela, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Pamela · Sibling names for Pamela
Questions about the name Pamela
What does Pamela mean?
Pamela means “coined by Philip Sidney (meaning unknown)” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Pamela?
Pamela was the 2251st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 82 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1954 (27,361). Over the last ten years it has moved down 849 places. More babies were named Pamela in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Pamela a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Pamela in the US.
Where is Pamela most popular?
In 2021–2025, Pamela was most common in New York (0.09 per 1,000 girls), followed by Florida and California.