Girl · #6,676 in 2026

Portia

Name: Popularity of the name Portia in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Portia, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Portia is a feminine given name taken from the name of the Roman Porcia gens, which was ultimately derived from the Latin porcus; porcus translates to pig. It is best known as a character who disguises herself as a man to act as an imposter judge and save the life of Antonio in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Porsha is a modern spelling variant.

Current Rank

#6,676

Peak Rank

#587 (1989)

Total Babies

11K

5-Yr Trend

-25%

1882

First Year

2026

Last Year

1989

Peak Year

#587

Peak Rank

11K

Total Count

136

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Portia

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Portia

Portia first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1882, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1989, when 259 Portias were born — ranking #757 that year. As of 2026, Portia ranks #6,676 for baby girls with 17 births, falling sharply (-25%). In total, more than 11K Portias have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Portia

Phonetically similar names — useful when Portia is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Porsche
Porsha
Parsha
Porcher
Poria
Portion
Porta
Puerto
Porgie
Pora
Paura
Borgia

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Portia

What does the name Portia mean?

How popular is Portia in 2026?

In 2026, Portia ranks #6,676 among girls' names in the U.S., with 17 babies given the name that year.

When was Portia most popular?

Portia reached its peak popularity in 1989, ranking #587 that year with 259 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Portia most popular?

Portia has historically been most popular in District of Columbia, Alabama, South Carolina. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Portia.

Is Portia a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Portia is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Portia?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Portia include Noel, Malissa, Lindy. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Portia

Portia is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1882 and has accumulated 11K births in the dataset. Portia's peak popularity came in 1989 when it ranked #587. Use the chart and map above to compare Portia's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.