Victoria
From Latin meaning "victory" or "conqueror," a feminine given name.
Roughly 446,973 people in the United States go by the first name Victoria, which ranks #48 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Victoria today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Victoria births was 1993 (12,959 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Brenda (446,636).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Victoria. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Victoria with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Victoria is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,276 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
447K
~ 1 in 767 Americans
Peak year
1993
12,959 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#48
Tracked since 1880
Census
Victoria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 452,655 people with the first name Victoria, which placed it at #100 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#100
National first-name rank
People counted
453K
452,655 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
149.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Victoria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Victoria is White at 55.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Black (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Victoria described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Victoria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.3% · 250,280
- Hispanic or Latino28.1% · 127,164
- Black or African American8.8% · 39,958
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 16,662
- Two or more races3.5% · 15,732
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2,859
Gender
Gender distribution for Victoria
Out of the 525,116 babies given the name Victoria since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Victoria as a male name
- Ranked #8,900 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (56 births)
Victoria as a female name
- Ranked #48 in 2024
- 4,267 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (12,926 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Victoria appears almost entirely female. Of the 452,646 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Victoria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Victoria from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 117,720 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Victoria by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Victoria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0 | 1,440 | 1,440 |
| 1890s | 0 | 2,479 | 2,479 |
| 1900s | 0 | 3,692 | 3,692 |
| 1910s | 24 | 10,766 | 10,790 |
| 1920s | 54 | 10,547 | 10,601 |
| 1930s | 57 | 6,204 | 6,261 |
| 1940s | 53 | 20,752 | 20,805 |
| 1950s | 91 | 49,126 | 49,217 |
| 1960s | 132 | 37,732 | 37,864 |
| 1970s | 118 | 30,883 | 31,001 |
| 1980s | 273 | 53,273 | 53,546 |
| 1990s | 246 | 117,474 | 117,720 |
| 2000s | 138 | 84,961 | 85,099 |
| 2010s | 67 | 71,006 | 71,073 |
| 2020s | 23 | 23,505 | 23,528 |
Geography
Where Victorias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Victoria, while Vermont, Wyoming, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10,101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Victoria
The name Victoria has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to the Roman era. It is derived from the Latin word "victor," which means "conqueror" or "victor." The name was initially used to honor Roman military victories and triumphs.
During the early Christian period, the name gained religious significance as it was associated with the concept of spiritual victory over sin and temptation. It became a popular name among Christian families who wished to bestow a meaning of triumph and overcoming obstacles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Victoria can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius, who mentioned a woman named Victoria in his work "De Vita Caesarum" (Lives of the Caesars) from around 121 AD.
In the 4th century, a Christian martyr named Victoria of Avila was venerated for her steadfast faith and willingness to face persecution. Her story contributed to the popularity of the name among early Christians.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Victoria. One of the most famous is Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. Her reign witnessed the expansion of the British Empire and significant social and technological advancements.
Another prominent figure was Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927), an American leader in the women's suffrage movement and the first woman to run for President of the United States in 1872.
In the realm of literature, Victoria Ocampo (1890-1979) was an Argentine writer, publisher, and intellectual who helped promote Latin American literature on the international stage.
Victoria Abril (born 1959) is a renowned Spanish actress who has appeared in numerous films and received numerous awards for her performances.
Victoria Azarenka (born 1989) is a professional tennis player from Belarus who has won two Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Victoria
People
Victoria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Victoria as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Victoria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Victoria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 446,973 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Victoria going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 767 US residents.
Is Victoria a common name?
We classify Victoria as "Common". It ranks above 99.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 525,116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Victoria most popular?
The single biggest year for Victoria was 1993, when 12,959 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Victoria is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Victoria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 452,655 people with the name Victoria, or 149.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #100 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Victoria in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Victoria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Victoria appears almost entirely female. Of the 452,646 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Victoria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Victoria is White at 55.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Black (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Victoria most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Victoria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.3% (250,280 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Victoria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Victoria a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Victoria in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Victoria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Victoria in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Victoria can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Victoria as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Victoria on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.