Portia
English spelling of the Roman family name Porcia, connected to Latin porcus, pig. Shakespeare gave it to the heroine of The Merchant of Venice.
Portia in 2025
Portia was given to 14 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 13,396th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 236,810 babies born.
The history of Portia
Portia reached its highest point in 1989, when 267 babies were given the name, ranking 1,325th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 1,034th, in 1949.
Across the 144 years of records since 1882, 10,635 babies have been named Portia. Half of them were born before 1970, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Portia by decade
| Decade | Babies named Portia | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 18 | 1,736 |
| 1890s | 52 | 1,637 |
| 1900s | 105 | 1,157 |
| 1910s | 283 | 1,856 |
| 1920s | 373 | 2,068 |
| 1930s | 272 | 2,281 |
| 1940s | 1,327 | 1,034 |
| 1950s | 1,545 | 1,080 |
| 1960s | 1,324 | 1,387 |
| 1970s | 1,056 | 1,672 |
| 1980s | 1,872 | 1,295 |
| 1990s | 1,190 | 1,474 |
| 2000s | 712 | 3,075 |
| 2010s | 421 | 4,718 |
| 2020s | 85 | 9,960 |
Where Portia is heading
Portia has fallen 67% over the past decade, from 42 babies in 2015 to 14 in 2025.
Names like Portia
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Portia.