Passion
An English name conveying intense emotions, fervor, or ardent affection.
Name Census estimates that about 2,377 living Americans carry the first name Passion. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Passion today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Passion births was 1992 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Passion. 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 Passion with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 144,196 Americans
Peak year
1992
85 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,528
Tracked since 1974
Census
Passion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,648 people with the first name Passion, which placed it at #8,722 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
#8,722
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,648 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Passion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Passion is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and White (8.3%). 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 Passion 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 Passion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.9% · 1,218
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 144
- White8.3% · 136
- Two or more races5.9% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 19
Popularity
Passion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Passion from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 690 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
Passion 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 Passion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Passions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Illinois, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Passion, while Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Passion
The name Passion has its origins in the Latin word 'passio', which means 'suffering' or 'enduring'. It was derived from the verb 'pati', which translates to 'to suffer' or 'to endure'. The name gained significance in the Christian tradition, where it was associated with the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, known as the 'Passion of Christ'.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Passion can be found in medieval Christian literature, particularly in the writings of mystics and religious scholars who explored the spiritual significance of Christ's suffering. In the 13th century, the German mystic and philosopher Meister Eckhart wrote extensively about the concept of 'Passion' as a means of achieving spiritual union with the divine.
Throughout history, the name Passion has been borne by several notable individuals, primarily within the realm of religion and spirituality. One such figure was Passion of Belmonte (1228-1296), an Italian nun and mystic known for her visions and devotion to the Passion of Christ. Passion Fagan (1537-1612) was an Irish Catholic martyr who was executed during the era of religious persecution in Ireland.
In the realm of literature, Passion Bowman (1791-1868) was an American poet and writer who explored themes of spirituality and nature in her works. Passion Vaux (1836-1912) was a French writer and journalist known for her works on feminist and social issues.
Another notable bearer of the name was Passion Skye (1951-2008), a Native American activist and artist who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting indigenous cultures and traditions. She was recognized for her contributions to the preservation of Native American languages and art forms.
While the name Passion is relatively uncommon as a first name, it has been imbued with deep spiritual and literary significance throughout history, reflecting the human experience of suffering, endurance, and the pursuit of transcendence.
People
Passion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Passion 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
Passion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Passion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,377 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Passion 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 144,196 US residents.
Is Passion a common name?
We classify Passion as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,445 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Passion most popular?
The single biggest year for Passion was 1992, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Passion is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Passion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,648 people with the name Passion, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,722 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 Passion 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 Passion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Passion leans strongly female. 1,621 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 28 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Passion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Passion is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and White (8.3%). 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 Passion most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Passion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (1,218 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 Passion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Passion a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Passion 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 Passion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Passion 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 Passion 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 are called Passion?
Find out how many people have the name Passion on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.