Nancy
Nancy was given to 265 girls in 2025, #967 among girls’ names; 1,007,393 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 629,000 Americans named Nancy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 62 and 78.
Nancy is the #22 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nancy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nancy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nancy is “a female given name.”
Medieval diminutive of Ann and Agnes. Compare Betsy, Patsy.
/ˈnænsi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nancy?
#967 among girls’ names, 2025
Nancy fell from #814 in 2015 to #967 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.19 to 0.16 per 1,000.
32,502 babies in 1947, the peak
Nancy peaked in 1947, when 32,502 babies were given it (32,445 girls, #7 among girls’ names). The 265 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 265 | #967 | 0.16 |
| 2024 | 290 | #916 | 0.18 |
| 2023 | 281 | #942 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 267 | #991 | 0.16 |
| 2021 | 279 | #946 | 0.17 |
| 2020 | 295 | #897 | 0.18 |
| 2019 | 298 | #895 | 0.18 |
| 2018 | 326 | #834 | 0.19 |
| 2017 | 314 | #874 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 310 | #900 | 0.17 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 345 | #814 | 0.19 |
| 2014 | 371 | #755 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 412 | #688 | 0.23 |
| 2012 | 437 | #654 | 0.25 |
| 2011 | 541 | #537 | 0.31 |
| 2010 | 574 | #519 | 0.32 |
| 2009 | 667 | #464 | 0.36 |
| 2008 | 858 | #379 | 0.45 |
| 2007 | 903 | #362 | 0.47 |
| 2006 | 1,017 | #325 | 0.53 |
| 2005 | 1,017 | #318 | 0.55 |
| 2004 | 1,151 | #289 | 0.63 |
| 2003 | 1,179 | #268 | 0.65 |
| 2002 | 1,369 | #229 | 0.76 |
| 2001 | 1,420 | #223 | 0.79 |
| 2000 | 1,378 | #232 | 0.76 |
| 1999 | 1,421 | #226 | 0.80 |
| 1998 | 1,480 | #207 | 0.84 |
| 1997 | 1,525 | #197 | 0.88 |
| 1996 | 1,825 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1995 | 2,001 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1994 | 2,189 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 1993 | 1,986 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1992 | 2,185 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 2,498 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1990 | 2,385 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1989 | 2,342 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1988 | 2,348 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1987 | 2,235 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1986 | 2,426 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1985 | 2,609 | #108 | 1.5 |
| 1984 | 2,487 | #113 | 1.5 |
| 1983 | 2,520 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1982 | 2,808 | #106 | 1.7 |
| 1981 | 2,912 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1980 | 2,806 | #111 | 1.7 |
| 1979 | 2,864 | #107 | 1.8 |
| 1978 | 3,044 | #97 | 2.0 |
| 1977 | 3,222 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1976 | 3,281 | #87 | 2.2 |
| 1975 | 3,510 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1974 | 3,891 | #78 | 2.7 |
| 1973 | 3,945 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1972 | 4,818 | #63 | 3.2 |
| 1971 | 6,212 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1970 | 7,063 | #50 | 4.0 |
| 1969 | 7,902 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 1968 | 8,961 | #39 | 5.5 |
| 1967 | 10,268 | #37 | 6.2 |
| 1966 | 11,729 | #33 | 6.9 |
| 1965 | 12,255 | #32 | 6.9 |
| 1964 | 14,696 | #26 | 7.8 |
| 1963 | 16,266 | #23 | 8.4 |
| 1962 | 18,027 | #19 | 9.2 |
| 1961 | 20,729 | #16 | 10.3 |
| 1960 | 21,891 | #15 | 10.8 |
| 1959 | 23,079 | #14 | 11.4 |
| 1958 | 24,819 | #12 | 12.3 |
| 1957 | 27,515 | #11 | 13.5 |
| 1956 | 28,784 | #11 | 14.3 |
| 1955 | 30,023 | #9 | 15.4 |
| 1954 | 30,270 | #9 | 15.6 |
| 1953 | 30,620 | #8 | 16.3 |
| 1952 | 31,739 | #7 | 17.1 |
| 1951 | 30,346 | #7 | 16.9 |
| 1950 | 29,617 | #6 | 17.3 |
| 1949 | 29,249 | #7 | 17.1 |
| 1948 | 29,411 | #7 | 17.3 |
| 1947 | 32,445 | #7 | 18.3 |
| 1946 | 28,345 | #7 | 18.0 |
| 1945 | 21,456 | #7 | 16.4 |
| 1944 | 23,218 | #7 | 17.5 |
| 1943 | 23,988 | #9 | 17.2 |
| 1942 | 23,327 | #8 | 17.3 |
| 1941 | 20,885 | #8 | 17.3 |
| 1940 | 19,737 | #7 | 17.3 |
| 1939 | 19,723 | #7 | 18.0 |
| 1938 | 18,951 | #7 | 17.2 |
| 1937 | 17,074 | #7 | 16.0 |
| 1936 | 16,755 | #8 | 16.1 |
| 1935 | 14,544 | #9 | 13.9 |
| 1934 | 13,520 | #10 | 12.9 |
| 1933 | 11,869 | #11 | 11.8 |
| 1932 | 10,948 | #13 | 10.3 |
| 1931 | 10,036 | #17 | 9.4 |
| 1930 | 9,068 | #24 | 8.1 |
| 1929 | 6,872 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1928 | 5,537 | #43 | 4.8 |
| 1927 | 5,022 | #56 | 4.2 |
| 1926 | 4,566 | #57 | 3.9 |
| 1925 | 4,325 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1924 | 3,989 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 1923 | 3,673 | #75 | 3.0 |
| 1922 | 3,518 | #78 | 2.9 |
| 1921 | 3,323 | #87 | 2.7 |
| 1920 | 2,982 | #95 | 2.5 |
| 1919 | 2,628 | #100 | 2.3 |
| 1918 | 2,510 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1917 | 2,411 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 1916 | 2,166 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1915 | 1,987 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 1914 | 1,575 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1913 | 1,290 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1912 | 1,078 | #108 | 1.9 |
| 1911 | 827 | #110 | 2.0 |
| 1910 | 811 | #105 | 2.0 |
| 1909 | 610 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1908 | 651 | #109 | 1.9 |
| 1907 | 582 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1906 | 557 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1905 | 535 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1904 | 508 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 1903 | 527 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1902 | 571 | #103 | 2.2 |
| 1901 | 519 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1900 | 673 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1899 | 475 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1898 | 546 | #106 | 2.1 |
| 1897 | 553 | #96 | 2.4 |
| 1896 | 527 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 1895 | 566 | #93 | 2.4 |
| 1894 | 515 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1893 | 538 | #88 | 2.5 |
| 1892 | 591 | #81 | 2.8 |
| 1891 | 523 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1890 | 512 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1889 | 470 | #86 | 2.6 |
| 1888 | 582 | #76 | 3.3 |
| 1887 | 511 | #71 | 3.5 |
| 1886 | 492 | #72 | 3.4 |
| 1885 | 527 | #67 | 4.0 |
| 1884 | 520 | #68 | 4.0 |
| 1883 | 412 | #71 | 3.7 |
| 1882 | 439 | #67 | 4.1 |
| 1881 | 429 | #59 | 4.7 |
| 1880 | 410 | #62 | 4.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nancy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nancy has been given almost only to girls: 2,945 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nancy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nancy, and how old are they?
629,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 1,007,393 Americans ever recorded as Nancy. The median Nancy alive today is 71 years old; half are between 62 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 772,570 people named Nancy (771,926 women and girls, 644 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 720,711 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 102,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 380,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 88,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 37,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,030 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nancy born?
The states with the most babies named Nancy are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 93,991 | #696 | 1.1× |
| California | 81,804 | #932 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 75,433 | #461 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 62,720 | #1,567 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 57,383 | #859 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 49,067 | #841 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 43,669 | #874 | 0.7× |
| Massachusetts | 40,087 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 35,019 | #1,130 | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 27,707 | #787 | 1.1× |
Where Nancy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nancy is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nancy with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 1,020,950 babies since 1880, Nancy is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 265 of their 265 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nancy
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nancy and names like it
- Compare Nancy and NanciBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sNancy peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nancy since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Nancy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nancy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.