Girls' name · since 1880
Dolly
Dolly has 20,592 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1926 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,048 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,777 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,592
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
20,592 babies have been named Dolly since 1880, making it today's #1777 girls' name.
Dolly has 20,592 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1777 as of the latest data, more common than 90% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,048 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,777 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 20,592 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dolly ranks #1,048 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,777 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 20,592 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,048 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,777 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,592
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Dolly's 20,592 recorded births place it above 98.55% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
41 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Dolly compares
20,592 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Dolly's all-time total is 55x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dolly | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 20,592 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 395 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dolly's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Dolly splits its recorded history at 1953: 29% of all births land in the more recent half, 71% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 2003 (10 births) -- compare that against the 1926 peak of 395 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Dolly popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1926)
- 395
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Dolly popularity over time - boys
44 total births recorded since 1916 (Dolly as boys' name)
Dolly by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (3,663 births, 18% of the file).
1920s was Dolly's strongest decade.
3,663 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Dolly births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 402
1880s
402 births
- 1890s 600
1890s
600 births
- 1900s 986
1900s
986 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,415 births
- 1920s
1920s
3,663 births
- 1930s
1930s
3,192 births
- 1940s
1940s
2,543 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,417 births
- 1960s 1,464
1960s
1,464 births
- 1970s 940
1970s
940 births
- 1980s 527
1980s
527 births
- 1990s 313
1990s
313 births
- 2000s 164
2000s
164 births
- 2010s 336
2010s
336 births
- 2020s 630
2020s
630 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 3,663 births (18% of all-time use).
How Dolly compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Dolly's total volume
Dolly by state
Where Dolly concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,222 | 5.9% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 1,100 | 5.3% |
| #3 | Texas | | 1,077 | 5.2% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 845 | 4.1% |
| #5 | West Virginia | | 801 | 3.9% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 770 | 3.7% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 742 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Kentucky | | 677 | 3.3% |
1,222 of 20,592 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 41 reporting states.
Dolly appears in 41 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Dolly? ▼
Where does Dolly sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Dolly most popular? ▼
Where is Dolly most popular? ▼
How long has the name Dolly been used? ▼
What names are similar to Dolly? ▼
What to do with Dolly's data
- Dolly's decade-level peak was the 1920s (3,663 total births); usage has since declined to 630 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Dollys (1,222 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dolly
Nearby Names Like Dolly
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dolly
Compare Dolly side by side: Dolly vs Dolores Dolly vs Dollie Dolly vs Doloris
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dolly
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dolly: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1926)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Dolly draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.