as a First Name
Biblical name (meaning ‘bee’ in Hebrew), borne by the nurse of Rebecca (Genesis 35:8) and by a woman judge and prophet (Judges 4–5) who led the Israelites to victory over the Canaanites. It has always been popular as a Jewish name. It was in use among Christians by the mid 16th century and was taken up by the Puritans in the 17th century, in part because the bee was a symbol of industriousness. Since then it has enjoyed enormous popularity, peaking in the 1960s. Among other famous bearers is the actress Deborah Kerr (1921–2007).
| 46th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 926,849
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- New Hampshire
- has the most people named Deborah per capita
- 1954
- marked the height of its popularity
99.95%
0.05%
54%
55+
55+
43%
30-54
30-54
2%
13-29
13-29
0.99%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
