Cookie
A nickname or pet name referring to the sweet pastry item.
Name Census estimates that about 406 living Americans carry the first name Cookie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cookie today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cookie births was 1958 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cookie. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cookie is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cookies were born before 1971.
People living today
406
~ 1 in 844,223 Americans
Peak year
1958
35 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,928
Tracked since 1940
Popularity
Cookie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cookie from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 251 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cookie 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 Cookie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cookies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Cookie, while Ohio, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cookie
The given name Cookie is a relatively modern invention, emerging in the 20th century. It does not have a clear linguistic origin or cultural roots in any particular language or region. Instead, it is likely derived from the English word "cookie," referring to the small, flat, baked treat.
While the name may seem whimsical or unconventional, it has been embraced by some parents in the English-speaking world, perhaps as a way to express a sense of playfulness or affection for their child. However, due to its novelty, there are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Cookie.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cookie was in the United States, where a woman named Cookie Wilson was born in 1922 in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, little is known about her life or significance beyond her unusual first name.
Another notable individual named Cookie was Cookie Gilchrist, an American football player who was born in 1935 in Mississippi. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for several teams, including the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, and was known for his powerful running style. He passed away in 2011.
In the world of sports, there was also Cookie Rojas, a Cuban-American professional baseball player who was born in 1939 in Havana, Cuba. He played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Kansas City Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies, and later became a coach and manager. He passed away in 1992.
In the entertainment industry, Cookie Knapp was an American actress and dancer who was born in 1927 in New York City. She appeared in several Broadway shows and films throughout her career, which spanned from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Finally, Cookie Mueller was an American writer, actress, and performance artist who was born in 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was known for her avant-garde works and her association with the underground art scene in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s. She passed away in 1989.
While the name Cookie may be unconventional, these individuals embraced it and left their mark in various fields, from sports to entertainment and the arts.
People
Cookie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cookie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cookie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cookie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 406 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cookie 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 844,223 US residents.
Is Cookie a common name?
We classify Cookie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 573 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cookie most popular?
The single biggest year for Cookie was 1958, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cookie is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cookie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cookie 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.
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.