Deborah is a name of Hebrew origin, meaning "bee." In the Bible, Deborah was a prophetess and judge in ancient Israel who led her people to victory against their enemies. The name has been popular among Jewish families for centuries but gained widespread recognition in the English-speaking world thanks to the works of famous authors like Charlotte Brontë and George Eliot, who used it as characters' names in their novels. Today, Deborah remains a unique yet timeless choice for parents looking for a meaningful and distinctive name for their daughters.
The name Deborah has been popular in the United States for over a century, with fluctuations in its popularity over time. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the number of births named Deborah ranged from single digits to triple digits. The most notable increases in popularity occurred during World War II, with a significant spike in 1944 (1,293 births) and 1945 (1,462 births).
The peak of popularity for the name Deborah was reached in the 1950s, with over 50,000 births each year between 1950 and 1954. The highest recorded number of births named Deborah was in 1953, with 52,197 births.
Since the 1960s, the popularity of the name Deborah has steadily declined. By the late 1970s, the number of annual births named Deborah had fallen below 3,000. In recent years, the popularity of the name Deborah has stabilized at around 300 births per year.
Overall, since records began in 1880, a total of 742,174 babies have been named Deborah in the United States. Despite its decline in recent decades, the name Deborah remains one of the most popular female names in American history.