girl's name
Hope
HOHP
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 114,347
the United States
#352
2025 births
Hope is a girl's name of Old English origin taken from the virtue, from hopian. It is one of the Puritan virtue names of the seventeenth century, alongside Faith, Charity, Prudence and Grace.
- Hope is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2000, when 2,326 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,798 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Hope over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 134 |
| 1890s | 293 |
| 1900s | 439 |
| 1910s | 1,998 |
| 1920s | 3,486 |
| 1930s | 2,140 |
| 1940s | 3,059 |
| 1950s | 5,013 |
| 1960s | 8,764 |
| 1970s | 11,073 |
| 1980s | 7,641 |
| 1990s | 14,329 |
| 2000s | 18,736 |
| 2010s | 13,799 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,889 |
What Hope means
Hope means the virtue itself — expectation with confidence. It is the plain English word rather than a translation, which distinguishes it from Felicity and Verity, where English kept the Latin.
Where Hope comes from
Hope comes from the Old English hopian, to hope, of uncertain earlier origin — it is not shared with the other Germanic languages in the way most core English verbs are. Puritan families in the seventeenth century adopted abstract virtues as names, giving Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Patience, Mercy and Temperance; Hope and Grace are the two that survived in continuous use while the others faded. It is one of the three theological virtues of Christian teaching, with faith and charity.
Hope in use
Our data shows Hope stable, peaking in 2000, at 180 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1880 and has never dropped out. Of the seventeenth-century Puritan virtue names, only Hope and Grace remain in real use — Patience, Temperance and Mercy have effectively vanished.
How popular is Hope?
In 2025, Hope was given to 873 babies in the United States, ranking #352 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Hope is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Hope
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Hope also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Hope over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Hope in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Hope
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Hope — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Hope
What does the name Hope mean?
Hope is the virtue name, from the Old English hopian, to hope.
Is Hope a Puritan name?
Yes. Seventeenth-century Puritan families adopted abstract virtues, giving Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence and Patience.
Which other virtue names survived?
Only Grace, really. Patience, Temperance, Mercy and Charity have effectively vanished from use.
How popular is the name Hope?
In 2025, Hope was given to 873 babies in the United States, ranking #352 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Hope a girl's or a boy's name?
Hope is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Hope?
Hope has 1 syllable.
When was Hope most popular?
Hope peaked in 2000, when 2,326 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Hope a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Hope currently ranks #92 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.