US rank #919 Girls' name Peak 1947 1,004,171 births

Nancy — #919 US girls' name

1,004,171 babies named Nancy in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1947. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s47921890s53461900s57331910s172831920s438071930s1424861940s2520581950s2868121960s1427231970s418491980s254931990s194952000s109582010s39272020s1409
#919
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 95% of names given to girls today.

1950s
Peak decade

29% of everyone ever named Nancy was born in this single decade.

1947
Single peak year

32,445 babies were named Nancy in 1947 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Nancy

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,004,171 babies named Nancy between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Nancy currently holds the #919 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1947, when 32,445 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Nancy performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 286,812 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Nancy shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 93,764 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Nancy in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Nancy in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,004,171 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Nancy at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

1,004,171

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1947

32,445 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#919

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Nancy popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1947)
32,445
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,00040,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 410

Nancy popularity over time — boys

2,945 total births recorded since 1889 (Nancy as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 2,945 births
020406080100 200419901978196619541942193019181889 7

Nancy by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
286,812 births that decade — 29% of Nancy's all-time total
1880s47921890s53461900s57331910s172831920s438071930s1424861940s2520581950s2868121960s1427231970s418491980s254931990s194952000s109582010s39272020s1409

Nancy by state

Where Nancy concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Nancy
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
93,764 9.3%
#2 California
81,541 8.1%
#3 Pennsylvania
75,340 7.5%
#4 Illinois
62,648 6.2%
#5 Ohio
57,297 5.7%
#6 Michigan
49,023 4.9%
#7 Texas
43,605 4.3%
#8 Massachusetts
40,054 4.0%
New York share of Nancy's total US births 9.3%
Even split

93,764 of 1,004,171 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Nancy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Nancy?
1,004,171 babies have been named Nancy since 1880. It currently ranks #919 among girls. The peak year was 1947 with 32,445 births.
When was Nancy most popular?
Nancy was most popular in the 1950s decade with 286,812 total births. The single peak year was 1947.
Where is Nancy most popular?
The top states for the name Nancy are New York (93,764 births), California (81,541 births), Pennsylvania (75,340 births).
How long has the name Nancy been used?
Nancy has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Nancy?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Nannie, Nanette, Nan, Nanci, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.