Pam
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "all" or "everything".
Name Census estimates that about 24,961 living Americans carry the first name Pam. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pam today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pam births was 1959 (3,677 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pam. 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 Pam is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pams were born before 1970.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Pam have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
25K
~ 1 in 13,732 Americans
Peak year
1959
3,677 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1962 SSA rank
#3,545
Tracked since 1915
Census
Pam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 44,554 people with the first name Pam, which placed it at #974 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
#974
National first-name rank
People counted
45K
44,554 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
14.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pam is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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 Pam 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 Pam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 39,015
- Black or African American5.4% · 2,400
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 970
- Two or more races2.1% · 945
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 875
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 349
Gender
Gender distribution for Pam
Out of the 33,148 babies given the name Pam since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Pam as a male name
- Ranked #3,545 in 1962
- 7 male births in 1962
- Peak: 1960 (10 births)
Pam as a female name
- Ranked #15,216 in 1996
- 5 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1959 (3,677 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pam appears almost entirely female. Of the 44,546 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Pam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pam from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 17,126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pam 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 Pam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Pam, while Hawaii, Delaware, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 614 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pam
The name Pam is a short form of the female name Pamela, which has its origins in the Greek language. Pamela is derived from the Greek words "pam" meaning "all" and "melos" meaning "honey" or "sweet as honey". The name was first recorded in the 16th century in the pastoral romance "Arcadia" by Sir Philip Sidney, where it was used for a character described as the embodiment of virtuous womanhood.
Pam as a diminutive form of Pamela gained popularity in the 20th century, especially in English-speaking countries. It is considered a modern and informal variant of the longer name. The earliest known use of Pam as a standalone name dates back to the late 19th century.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Pam was Pam Grier, an American actress born in 1949. She was a pioneering figure in the blaxploitation genre of the 1970s, starring in films such as "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown". Grier's career spanned over five decades, and she was known for portraying strong, independent women on screen.
Another famous Pam was Pam Ayres, a British poet and comedian born in 1947. She became known for her humorous and observational poetry, often written in a West Country dialect. Ayres' works captured the daily lives and experiences of ordinary people, earning her widespread popularity and acclaim.
In the world of sports, Pam Shriver, born in 1962, was a prominent American tennis player. She won numerous Grand Slam titles in both singles and doubles events throughout her career, and was a member of the successful US Federation Cup team. Shriver is also known for her work as a tennis commentator and analyst after her retirement from professional play.
Pam Ferris, born in 1948, is a British actress who has appeared in various television shows and films. She is perhaps best known for her role as Aunt Marge in the "Harry Potter" film series, where her comedic portrayal of the character was widely praised.
In the realm of literature, Pam Munoz Ryan, born in 1951, is an American writer of children's books. Her works, such as "Esperanza Rising" and "Riding Freedom", explore diverse cultural experiences and have received numerous awards and accolades for their representation of underrepresented communities.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Pam
People
Pam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24,961 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pam 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 13,732 US residents.
Is Pam a common name?
We classify Pam as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33,148 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pam most popular?
The single biggest year for Pam was 1959, when 3,677 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pam is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 44,554 people with the name Pam, or 14.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #974 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 Pam 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 Pam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pam appears almost entirely female. Of the 44,546 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 Pam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pam is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%). 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 Pam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (39,015 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 Pam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pam a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Pam 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 Pam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pam 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 Pam 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 common is the name Pam?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.