Modest

Girls' name

Form of Modestus

Modest has been given to 65 babies in the U.S. since 1911. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1921, with 11 recorded.

Babies named Modest, 1927

1 in 387,000

Modest over time, 1880–2025

Girls

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Modest: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Modestus

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Modest means

Modest is a form of Modestus.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Modest is used in Russian (Archaic).

Another recorded pronunciation is /mɐ.ˈdɛst/ for Modest.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Modestus.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 65 girls were recorded with the name Modest between 1911 and 1927. Its highest annual count was 11 in 1921; its best national rank was #2,120 in 1911.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

U.S. Social Security Administration: national name data and limitations

How common is Modest?

Modest had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1927, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1927: 1 in 387,000; 6 of 2,319,281 births
Among girls only: 1 in 199,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 1927: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 267,935 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Modest 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 1927 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 267,935 children born in 1927 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Modest. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Modests were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Modest was born before 1918 — so the typical Modest is around 107 today.

Median birth year: 1918; About 107 years old
Biggest decade: 1910s; 58.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 100.0%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 0; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1910s — 58.5% of all recorded uses (38).

Is Modest 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: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1921 (11)
Years since peak: 104; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 41.0% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,120; 1911

Spellings of Modest

Modest is not the most common spelling — Monet is, with 56.2% against Modest's 0.80%.

Monet56.2%4,546
Modesta20.0%1,615
Modena8.4%683
Forest7.3%593
Modesty7.2%583
Modest0.80%65

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Modest by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,120; 1911
Peak year: 1921; 11 that year
First recorded: 1911
Last recorded: 1927
All-time count: 65
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Modest

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

Modupe Quest Modine Modelle Modell Modie Modene Modean Honest Modesty Modenia Selest Forest West Modena Harvest Celest Modeste Modesti Everest Modestine Forrest Amythest Tempest

Sibling names for Modest

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

For a sister

Elvera Rubie Tressie Lavinia Adell Idella Dortha Linnie

For a brother

Hardy Antone Harmon Arlie Burl Dewitt Patsy Odis

Explore around Modest

Top names of 1921, Modest's peak year The 1920s in full Other names that peaked in 1911 Girls' names starting with M