Rebecca
Rebecca was the 350th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 872 babies. Its best year was 1973, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1981 (16,737). Over the last ten years it has moved down 161 places. More babies were named Rebecca in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Hebrew
Say it rih-BEK-uh /rɪˈbɛkə/
- Rank in 2025
- #350 girls, down 101 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 872girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 198116,737 babies
- Total since 1880
- 758,106babies recorded
What does the name Rebecca mean?
Rebecca is the Latin form of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac in Genesis (her birth is noted in Genesis 22:23). The meaning of the Hebrew Rivqah is debated: DMNES relates it to a Semitic root meaning "to tie, couple" and the Random House dictionary glosses it "binding", while Wiktionary gives "captivating, snare". DMNES says the name came into use in England in the second half of the 16th century.
רִבְקָה (Biblical Hebrew, “Rebekah (root perhaps 'to tie')”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Sources give 'connection', 'tie' or 'captivating'; none is certain.
Related names: Rebekah, Becky, Becca, Rivka.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Rebecca', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Rebecca', DMNES, Durham University
- Hebrew Bible / Tanakh, Genesis 22.23, JPS translation with notes (via Sefaria), Sefaria
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Rebecca', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Rebecca
The usual nicknames for Rebecca are Becky, Becca, Reba and Bex. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Rebecca in the last five years, 5 were named Becca, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Becky | Traditional | #3,992 | 170 |
| Becca | Modern | #4,080 | 224 |
| Reba | Traditional | #10,733 | 98 |
| Bex · also for Bexley | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Rebeccas go by each one.
Rebecca popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,114 since 1909.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #350 | 872 |
| 2020 | #249 | 1,212 |
| 2010 | #134 | 2,299 |
| 2000 | #39 | 7,078 |
| 1990 | #21 | 13,677 |
| 1980 | #17 | 15,281 |
| 1970 | #29 | 10,854 |
| 1960 | #38 | 9,970 |
| 1950 | #36 | 9,425 |
| 1940 | #96 | 2,555 |
| 1930 | #176 | 1,114 |
| 1920 | #175 | 1,269 |
| 1910 | #154 | 519 |
| 1900 | #126 | 503 |
| 1890 | #107 | 374 |
| 1880 | #92 | 236 |
How popular is Rebecca, counting every spelling?
Rebecca is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #255 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #350 for Rebecca on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,346 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca | 872 | #350 | 4,901 |
| Rebekah | 302 | #884 | 1,484 |
| Rebeca | 166 | #1,339 | 857 |
| Rebecka | 6 | #14,547 | 34 |
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 Rebecca?
872 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rebecca (0.24 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Rebecca 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 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rebecca.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rebecca?
About 642,900 people born in the US named Rebecca are alive today, with a median age of 48; half are between 35 and 62. That makes Rebecca mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Rebecca by state
How common Rebecca was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Pennsylvania (1.8×), Massachusetts (1.7×), New Jersey (1.7×), Utah (1.6×), Indiana (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, Mississippi, Nebraska.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rebecca: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rebecca, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rebecca · Sibling names for Rebecca
Questions about the name Rebecca
What does Rebecca mean?
The origin of Rebecca is uncertain: sources give 'connection', 'tie' or 'captivating'; none is certain.
How popular is the name Rebecca?
Rebecca was the 350th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 872 babies. Its best year was 1973, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1981 (16,737). Over the last ten years it has moved down 161 places. More babies were named Rebecca in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Rebecca a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Rebecca in the US.
Where is Rebecca most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rebecca was most common in Pennsylvania (1.10 per 1,000 girls), followed by Massachusetts and New Jersey.