Popularity of the name Nancy, 1880–2025
Nancy was at its most popular in 1947, when 32,445 girls were given the name: about 1 in 55 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #7. In 2025, 265 girls were named Nancy, ranking #965. In all, Social Security counts 1,004,448 girls named Nancy since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 2,945 boys named Nancy.
- Peak year
- 1947
- Rank in 1947
- #7
- Babies in 1947
- 32,445
- Rank in 2025
- #965
- Total since 1880
- 1,004,448
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #812 in 2015 to #965 in 2025: 345 girls got it in 2015, and 265 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1940s, when 252,061 girls were named Nancy, #7 for the decade. It ranked #72 in the 1880s and #946 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 410 in 1880 (#62), 673 in 1900 (#99), 2,982 in 1920 (#95), 19,737 in 1940 (#7), 21,891 in 1960 (#15), 2,806 in 1980 (#110), 1,378 in 2000 (#232) and 295 in 2020 (#896).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 32,445, in 1947. Its best rank in any year was #6, first reached in 1950.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Nancy, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 410 | #62 |
| 1881 | 429 | #59 |
| 1882 | 439 | #67 |
| 1883 | 412 | #71 |
| 1884 | 520 | #68 |
| 1885 | 527 | #67 |
| 1886 | 492 | #72 |
| 1887 | 511 | #71 |
| 1888 | 582 | #76 |
| 1889 | 470 | #86 |
| 1890 | 512 | #84 |
| 1891 | 523 | #83 |
| 1892 | 591 | #81 |
| 1893 | 538 | #88 |
| 1894 | 515 | #98 |
| 1895 | 566 | #93 |
| 1896 | 527 | #96 |
| 1897 | 553 | #96 |
| 1898 | 546 | #106 |
| 1899 | 475 | #107 |
| 1900 | 673 | #99 |
| 1901 | 519 | #102 |
| 1902 | 571 | #103 |
| 1903 | 527 | #109 |
| 1904 | 508 | #115 |
| 1905 | 535 | #118 |
| 1906 | 557 | #112 |
| 1907 | 582 | #113 |
| 1908 | 651 | #109 |
| 1909 | 610 | #118 |
| 1910 | 811 | #105 |
| 1911 | 827 | #110 |
| 1912 | 1,078 | #108 |
| 1913 | 1,290 | #102 |
| 1914 | 1,575 | #102 |
| 1915 | 1,987 | #102 |
| 1916 | 2,166 | #102 |
| 1917 | 2,411 | #98 |
| 1918 | 2,510 | #102 |
| 1919 | 2,628 | #100 |
| 1920 | 2,982 | #95 |
| 1921 | 3,323 | #87 |
| 1922 | 3,518 | #78 |
| 1923 | 3,673 | #75 |
| 1924 | 3,989 | #69 |
| 1925 | 4,325 | #60 |
| 1926 | 4,566 | #57 |
| 1927 | 5,022 | #56 |
| 1928 | 5,537 | #43 |
| 1929 | 6,872 | #32 |
| 1930 | 9,068 | #24 |
| 1931 | 10,036 | #17 |
| 1932 | 10,948 | #13 |
| 1933 | 11,869 | #11 |
| 1934 | 13,520 | #10 |
| 1935 | 14,544 | #9 |
| 1936 | 16,755 | #8 |
| 1937 | 17,074 | #7 |
| 1938 | 18,951 | #7 |
| 1939 | 19,723 | #7 |
| 1940 | 19,737 | #7 |
| 1941 | 20,885 | #8 |
| 1942 | 23,327 | #8 |
| 1943 | 23,988 | #9 |
| 1944 | 23,218 | #7 |
| 1945 | 21,456 | #7 |
| 1946 | 28,345 | #7 |
| 1947 | 32,445 | #7 |
| 1948 | 29,411 | #7 |
| 1949 | 29,249 | #7 |
| 1950 | 29,617 | #6 |
| 1951 | 30,346 | #7 |
| 1952 | 31,739 | #7 |
| 1953 | 30,620 | #8 |
| 1954 | 30,270 | #9 |
| 1955 | 30,023 | #9 |
| 1956 | 28,784 | #11 |
| 1957 | 27,515 | #11 |
| 1958 | 24,819 | #12 |
| 1959 | 23,079 | #14 |
| 1960 | 21,891 | #15 |
| 1961 | 20,729 | #16 |
| 1962 | 18,027 | #19 |
| 1963 | 16,266 | #23 |
| 1964 | 14,696 | #26 |
| 1965 | 12,255 | #32 |
| 1966 | 11,729 | #33 |
| 1967 | 10,268 | #37 |
| 1968 | 8,961 | #39 |
| 1969 | 7,902 | #45 |
| 1970 | 7,063 | #50 |
| 1971 | 6,212 | #52 |
| 1972 | 4,818 | #63 |
| 1973 | 3,945 | #77 |
| 1974 | 3,891 | #78 |
| 1975 | 3,510 | #82 |
| 1976 | 3,281 | #87 |
| 1977 | 3,222 | #89 |
| 1978 | 3,044 | #97 |
| 1979 | 2,864 | #107 |
| 1980 | 2,806 | #110 |
| 1981 | 2,912 | #101 |
| 1982 | 2,808 | #106 |
| 1983 | 2,520 | #113 |
| 1984 | 2,487 | #113 |
| 1985 | 2,609 | #108 |
| 1986 | 2,426 | #116 |
| 1987 | 2,235 | #126 |
| 1988 | 2,348 | #121 |
| 1989 | 2,342 | #128 |
| 1990 | 2,385 | #131 |
| 1991 | 2,498 | #125 |
| 1992 | 2,185 | #142 |
| 1993 | 1,986 | #156 |
| 1994 | 2,189 | #144 |
| 1995 | 2,001 | #160 |
| 1996 | 1,825 | #172 |
| 1997 | 1,525 | #197 |
| 1998 | 1,480 | #207 |
| 1999 | 1,421 | #225 |
| 2000 | 1,378 | #232 |
| 2001 | 1,420 | #223 |
| 2002 | 1,369 | #229 |
| 2003 | 1,179 | #267 |
| 2004 | 1,151 | #289 |
| 2005 | 1,017 | #317 |
| 2006 | 1,017 | #325 |
| 2007 | 903 | #362 |
| 2008 | 858 | #379 |
| 2009 | 667 | #463 |
| 2010 | 574 | #519 |
| 2011 | 541 | #537 |
| 2012 | 437 | #651 |
| 2013 | 412 | #687 |
| 2014 | 371 | #755 |
| 2015 | 345 | #812 |
| 2016 | 310 | #899 |
| 2017 | 314 | #870 |
| 2018 | 326 | #833 |
| 2019 | 298 | #893 |
| 2020 | 295 | #896 |
| 2021 | 279 | #945 |
| 2022 | 267 | #991 |
| 2023 | 281 | #941 |
| 2024 | 290 | #914 |
| 2025 | 265 | #965 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.