Mable
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "lovable" or "loving".
Name Census estimates that about 7,670 living Americans carry the first name Mable. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mable today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mable births was 1922 (1,629 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mable. 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 Mable with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Mable is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 215 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Mable is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Mables were born before 1965.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Mable have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
7.7K
~ 1 in 44,688 Americans
Peak year
1922
1,629 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1943 SSA rank
#2,468
Tracked since 1880
Census
Mable in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,307 people with the first name Mable, which placed it at #2,584 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
#2,584
National first-name rank
People counted
9.3K
9,307 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mable
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mable is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Mable 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 Mable at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.1% · 4,570
- White41.6% · 3,871
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 292
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 256
- Two or more races2.2% · 202
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 116
Gender
Gender distribution for Mable
Out of the 53,393 babies given the name Mable since 1880, 99.6% 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.
Mable as a male name
- Ranked #3,431 in 1943
- 6 male births in 1943
- Peak: 1930 (13 births)
Mable as a female name
- Ranked #2,468 in 2024
- 73 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1922 (1,620 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mable appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,306 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Mable: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mable from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 14,096 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mable 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 Mable during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mables live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. North Carolina, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Mable, while Wyoming, District of Columbia, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 910 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mable
The name Mable has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to the Medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "amabilis," which means "lovable" or "worthy of love." The name likely emerged as a diminutive form of the name Amabel or Amabilia, both of which were popular during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mable can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England completed in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Mabilia" and "Mabilia," indicating its widespread use during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have been bestowed with the name Mable. One of the earliest examples is Mable of Bellême (c. 1090-1155), a powerful Norman noblewoman who held significant influence in England and France during the 12th century. Another historical figure is Mable Howard (1605-1675), an English poet and playwright who was part of the literary circle surrounding John Donne.
In the realm of literature, the name Mable gained prominence through the works of Charles Dickens. The character of Mable Childers, known as "Merry Mable," appears in his novel "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit" (1843-1844). This fictional character is remembered for her cheerful and vivacious personality.
Another notable Mable was Mable Normand (1892-1930), a pioneering American actress and one of the most popular comedic film stars of the silent film era. She appeared in numerous films alongside legendary actors like Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
In the world of music, Mable John (1930-2022) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her hit single "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966.
While the name Mable has experienced fluctuations in popularity over the centuries, its enduring presence throughout history is a testament to its timeless appeal and rich cultural heritage.
People
Mable + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mable as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mable: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mable?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,670 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mable 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 44,688 US residents.
Is Mable a common name?
We classify Mable as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 53,393 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mable most popular?
The single biggest year for Mable was 1922, when 1,629 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mable is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mable in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,307 people with the name Mable, or 3.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,584 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 Mable 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 Mable?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mable appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,306 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Mable?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mable is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Mable most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mable in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (4,570 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 Mable in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mable a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Mable 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 Mable still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mable 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 Mable 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 the name Mable?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Mable, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.