Paytience
A feminine name derived from the virtue of patience.
Name Census estimates that about 87 living Americans carry the first name Paytience. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paytience today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paytience births was 2010 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paytience. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Paytience. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
87
~ 1 in 3,939,705 Americans
Peak year
2010
12 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,005
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Paytience: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paytience from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 49 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Paytience remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paytience 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 Paytience during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Paytience
The name Paytience is an English variant of the virtue name Patience, derived from the Latin word patientia, meaning "endurance" or "forbearance." It originated in the late Middle Ages as a Christian name, reflecting the virtue of patience as praised in the Bible.
The earliest recorded use of the name Paytience can be traced back to the 16th century in England. One of the earliest bearers of this name was Paytience Warde, born in 1590 in Lincolnshire, England. She was the daughter of a wealthy landowner and is mentioned in historical records from the time.
In the 17th century, the name Paytience was borne by Paytience Lovell, an English Puritan woman who lived from 1615 to 1680. She was known for her religious writings and her advocacy for women's education.
Another notable figure was Paytience Hargrave, born in 1675 in Somerset, England. She was a Quaker preacher and author who traveled extensively throughout England and Wales, promoting religious tolerance and social reform.
In the 18th century, Paytience Ellison, born in 1732 in Yorkshire, England, was a prominent member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and played a significant role in the abolition movement against slavery.
In the 19th century, Paytience Cummings, born in 1818 in Massachusetts, United States, was a teacher and writer who advocated for women's rights and educational opportunities for girls.
While the name Paytience was most prevalent in English-speaking countries, it has also been used in other cultures and languages, albeit less commonly. The name reflects the universal appreciation for the virtue of patience across various religious and cultural traditions.
People
Paytience + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paytience 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
Paytience: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paytience?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 87 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paytience 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 3,939,705 US residents.
Is Paytience a common name?
We classify Paytience as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 88 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paytience most popular?
The single biggest year for Paytience was 2010, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paytience is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paytience a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paytience 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.