Pepper
A fiery, piquant spice evoking zest and liveliness.
Name Census estimates that about 3,296 living Americans carry the first name Pepper. It is a predominantly female name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Pepper today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pepper births was 2021 (164 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pepper. 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.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 103,991 Americans
Peak year
2021
164 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2023 SSA rank
#1,627
Tracked since 1937
Gender
Gender distribution for Pepper
Pepper leans heavily female at 92.9% of total registrations, but 245 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pepper as a male name
- Ranked #13,651 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1957 (13 births)
Pepper as a female name
- Ranked #1,627 in 2024
- 127 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (161 births)
Popularity
Pepper: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pepper from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,389 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pepper remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pepper 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 Pepper during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Peppers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Texas, Washington recorded the most babies named Pepper, while Wisconsin, Nevada, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pepper
The given name Pepper is derived from the Old English word "pipor," which in turn comes from the Latin "piper," meaning "pepper" or "peppercorn." This name has its origins in the spice trade and was likely bestowed upon someone who worked with or traded in pepper, or perhaps someone who had a fiery or peppery personality.
The earliest recorded use of Pepper as a given name dates back to the late 16th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Pepper Draper, a merchant and landowner who lived in Lincolnshire, England in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, Pepper became a popular name among the Puritans in New England, who often chose names with biblical or symbolic meanings. One notable bearer of this name was Pepper Whitcomb, a soldier and farmer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and lived from 1753 to 1824.
As the spice trade flourished and pepper became more widely available, the name continued to gain popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pepper Adams, an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer, was born in 1930 and made a significant contribution to the jazz scene in the mid-20th century.
Pepper Potts, a fictional character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has also brought some attention to the name in recent years. Played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Pepper Potts is the personal assistant and love interest of Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man.
Another famous bearer of the name was Pepper Martin, an American baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930s and was known for his speed and defensive skills on the field. He was born in 1904 and played in the major leagues from 1928 to 1944.
While not as common as some other given names, Pepper has a unique and interesting history that reflects its roots in the world of spices and trade. It has been borne by various notable individuals throughout history, spanning fields such as sports, music, and literature.
People
Pepper + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pepper 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
Pepper: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pepper?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,296 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pepper 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 103,991 US residents.
Is Pepper a common name?
We classify Pepper as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,447 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pepper most popular?
The single biggest year for Pepper was 2021, when 164 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pepper is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pepper a female name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Pepper 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.