Nancy
A medieval English pet form of Ann, from Hebrew Channah, “grace.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
A pet form of Ann that stood on its own by the 1940s, when it reached the top 10.
Nancy appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 80 different years between 1880 and 1978. It spent 22 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1947, when 32,445 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 7 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1950, at No. 6. In 2025 it ranked No. 965 for girls. All told, 1,007,393 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Nanci (6,474), Nancie (3,296), Nancee (1,358), Nancye (1,031), Nancey (627) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Ann, Nannie
Explore Nancy interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,792 | No. 59 |
| 1890s | 5,346 | No. 81 |
| 1900s | 5,733 | No. 99 |
| 1910s | 17,283 | No. 98 |
| 1920s | 43,807 | No. 32 |
| 1930s | 142,488 | No. 7 |
| 1940s | 252,061 | No. 7 |
| 1950s | 286,812 | No. 6 |
| 1960s | 142,724 | No. 15 |
| 1970s | 41,850 | No. 50 |
| 1980s | 25,493 | No. 101 |
| 1990s | 19,495 | No. 125 |
| 2000s | 10,959 | No. 223 |
| 2010s | 3,928 | No. 519 |
| 2020s | 1,677 | No. 896 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.