The story in the numbers

367,190 girls have been named Diana in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1957, with 9,433 births — 0.46% of all girls recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 298 → 243).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1964, and the 1950s alone account for 22%. It has spent 144 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 51 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a girl’s name: 1,285 boys have also been given it, 0.35% of the total.

Rank among girls, year by year

By decade

Decade

girls named Diana

118

225

353

1,337

3,223

9,501

53,698

80,235

65,035

33,346

36,904

33,780

29,543

13,406

6,486

In 1957, its biggest year

Diana was the 43rd most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1957 were Mary, Susan, Linda, Debra and Karen. See all of 1957.

Names that rose and fell with Diana

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.