Palmer
Girl name · #232 in 2025 · Well-known
Palmer is currently the #232 girl name in the United States — 1,330 babies received it in 2025. A decade ago it stood at #1337, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 1,353 girls born in 2025 was named Palmer.
Babies named Palmer per year. Source: SSA.
The 117-year story
Palmer first appears in the Social Security records in 1908, when 7 girls received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2025, with 1,330 babies and a rank of #232. Names at their peak can keep climbing — or be one trend cycle from the long slide that eventually hits most popular names. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Palmer against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Palmer in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Palmer is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "well-known". A low score means broad familiarity: teachers will spell it right, and your child may share it with a classmate. For many families that's a feature, not a bug.
Where Palmer is most common
Geography matters for names, and Palmer is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Palmer is most common in ND (4.4 per 1,000), SD (3.3 per 1,000), NE (3 per 1,000), IA (2.6 per 1,000), MS (2.5 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 1 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Palmer is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Names like Palmer
Statistically, parents drawn to Palmer tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Parker, Saylor, River, Ember, and Clover.
ParkerSaylorRiverEmberCloverJuniperMillerPoppy
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Palmer | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,330 | #232 |
| 2024 | 1,224 | #258 |
| 2023 | 1,133 | #277 |
| 2022 | 1,075 | #295 |
| 2021 | 996 | #330 |
| 2020 | 888 | #348 |
| 2019 | 675 | #461 |
| 2018 | 433 | #675 |
| 2017 | 247 | #1042 |
| 2016 | 241 | #1078 |
| 2015 | 177 | #1337 |
| 2014 | 173 | #1352 |
| 2013 | 132 | #1624 |
| 2012 | 138 | #1575 |
| 2011 | 67 | #2638 |
| 2010 | 13 | #8701 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7341 |
| 2008 | 20 | #6559 |
| 2007 | 24 | #5709 |
| 2006 | 14 | #8237 |
| 2005 | 10 | #10128 |
| 2004 | 11 | #9264 |
| 2003 | 10 | #9671 |
| 2002 | 7 | #12187 |
| 2001 | 8 | #11020 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Palmer a popular girl name?
Palmer ranked #232 among girls in 2025 with 1,330 babies given the name — inside the top 500: established but not ubiquitous. Ten years earlier it ranked #1337.
When was the name Palmer most popular?
Palmer peaked in 2025, when 1,330 American girls received the name (ranked #232 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Palmer?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 1,353 newborn American girls was named Palmer. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "well-known".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.