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December

#5,767 in 2025Girls' name

Tenth month

December has been given to 1,619 babies in the U.S. since 1960. In 2025 it ranked #5,767 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2012, with 46 recorded.

Babies named December, 2025

1 in 158,000

December over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

December: meaning, origin, and history

Tenth month

English and month names

What December means

December means “tenth month”, associated with december.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Middle English December, Decembre, from Old French decembre, from Latin december (“tenth month”), from Latin decem (“ten”); + Latin -ber, from -bris, an adjectival suffix; December was the tenth month in the Roman calendar.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: December (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

December is used in English. Its origins include English and month names.

December comes through Middle English December, Old French decembre, Latin december, Latin decem and Latin -ber.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, December is pronounced /dɪˈsɛm.bɚ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,608 girls were recorded with the name December between 1960 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 46 in 2012; its best national rank was #2,736 in 1979.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,031 in 2020 to #5,767 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,786 in 2015 to #5,767 in 2025.

In the United States, 11 boys were recorded with the name December between 2016 and 2022. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2016; its best national rank was #11,044 in 2016.

How common is December?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 158,000
21 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 76,500
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#5,767
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
109,425 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where December sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 109,425 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another December. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Decembers were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as December was born before 2002 — so the typical December is around 23 today.

Median birth year
2002
About 23 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
22.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
51.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,608
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 22.2% of all recorded uses (357).

Is December rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−579
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,736
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,981
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.53×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
45.7%
Peak was 2012 (46)
Years since peak
13
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,736
1979

Where December is used

Across 1910–2025, December was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 643,099 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Illinois1 in —
  3. 3Missouri1 in —
  4. 4New York1 in —
  5. 5Ohio1 in —
  6. 6Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. December has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

December around the world

Where December ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • Canada
    1998–1998
    #1,824
    in 1998

Popularity data from Statistics Canada. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

December by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#5,767
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,736
Best rank ever
#2,736
1979
Peak year
2012
46 that year
First recorded
1960
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,608
Count in 2025
21

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#11,044
2016
Peak year
2016
6 that year
First recorded
2016
Last recorded
2022
All-time count
11
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to December

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NovemberOctoberSeptemberDeclynnTimberDeclanKymberDeclynKamberTymberCamberDeckerDecklynDechelleDecarlaKimberDeamberDecklynnKeamberKemberTamberOktoberEmberDecie

Sibling names for December

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around December

Top names of 2012, December's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1979Girls' names starting with DWinter Names