Pamela
About Pamela
Pam was a somewhat pampered prom queen of the sixties who was never called by her full name, which is a pity because Pamela is so mellifluous and rich in literary history. A Top 25 name from the late 1940's through the late 60's, Pamela has just, sadly, dropped out of the Top 1000.
Pamela was first used by Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney in his sixteenth century pastoral epic Arcadia, but it was Samuel Richardson's enormously popular novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded two centuries later that really promoted it. Rarely used now, Pamela might almost be ready for a revival, and the appealing Pam (wife of Jim, the male-equivalent name) on The Office may help bring it back.
But no, we won't be recommending the name of Pamela's partner--Linda.
Pronounced PAM-uh-luh.
As of October 2026, Pamela ranked #2251 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #10 in 1953, Nameberry popularity #518.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,290 | 185 | 103.6 |
| 2015 | #1,402 | 167 | 93.6 |
| 2016 | #1,310 | 183 | 103.3 |
| 2017 | #1,456 | 155 | 89.8 |
| 2018 | #1,587 | 136 | 79.9 |
| 2019 | #1,497 | 146 | 87 |
| 2020 | #1,673 | 123 | 76.1 |
| 2021 | #1,812 | 112 | 68.3 |
| 2022 | #2,044 | 95 | 57.9 |
| 2023 | #1,940 | 102 | 63.6 |
| 2024 | #2,161 | 88 | 54.3 |
| 2025 | #2,251 | 82 | 51 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Pamela.
- Barbara
- Janet
- Pauline
- Suzanne
- Diane
- Patricia
- Deborah
- Susan
- Judy
- Shoshannah
- Donna
- Roberta
- Rosanna
- Paulina
- Dora
- Bernice
- Gloria
- Carol
- Debbie
- Shirley
Pamela on lists
Famous Pamelas
- Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier
American actress
- Pamela Beryl Harriman
English,American diplomat
- Pamela Denise Anderson
Canadian,American model/actress
- Pamela Reed
American actress
- Pamela Redmond Satran
American novelist and co,founder of Nameberry
- Pamela Catherine Gidley
American actress
- Pamela "Pam" Gail Fryman
American TV director
- Pamela Dellal
American mezzo,soprano
- Pamela Fionna Adlon
American voice actress
- Pamela Hayden
American voice actress
- Pamela Helen Ostrer Mason
English actress
- Pamela Geller
American activist and commentator
- Pamela Helen Stephenson
New Zealand actress; wife of comedian Billy Connolly
- Pamela 'Pam' Ayres
English poet, broadcaster and entertainer
- Pamela Agatha "Pam" Nestor
Guyanese,British singer
- Pamela "Pam" Howard Shriver
American tennis player
- Pamela Memmott
Canadian novelist
- Pamela Jeanne Banducci aka Pam Munoz Ryan
American novelist
- Tammin Pamela Sursok
Australian actress
- Pamela Horton
(b. 1988) Playboy Playmate
Pamela in pop culture
- Pamela Andrews
character in Samuel Richardson novel "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded"
- Pamela Maran
character on TV's "Army Wives"
- Pamela Morgan "Pam" Beesly
Halpert, character on TV's "The Office"
- Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley aka Poison Ivy
character in the Batman series
- Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing
character on TV's "Dallas"
- Pamela "Pam" James
character on TV show Martin
- Pamela Gray
the main character in the novel 'Goddess of Light' (PC Cast)
- Pamela Manson
mother of Sam Manson from "Danny Phantom"
- Pamela Saint
character on Call the midwife.
- Pamela Tanner
the late wife of Danny Tanner on TV's "Full House"
- Pamela Donaldson Katsopolis
adopted daughter of Jesse and Becky Katsopolis on Netflix's "Fuller House"
- Pamela
little girl in Ikana Valley in "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask"
- Pamela
song by The Kooks