Girls' name · peaked in 1983
Holly name popularity since 1925
206,221 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Holly (99.4% girls, 0.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1979 or earlier, so the typical Holly is about 47 years old in 2026. Holly peaked in 1983 as the #48 name for girls, and it ranked #416 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 206,221
- Named Holly, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #416
- for girls in 2025 (751 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.4% girls
- 205,016 girls · 1,205 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 1.92× its national share
Peak year is the year Holly made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Holly births per year, 1925–2025
1983 was the biggest year for Holly both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1949 and 1954, Holly became 2.9× more common, from 1 in 2,710 baby girls to 1 in 928.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby girls fell by 42%, from 1 in 719 to 1 in 1,230.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Holly's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Holly.
Decade by decade
Babies named Holly in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 109 | 96 | – |
| 1930s | 415 | 151 | #1,044 |
| 1940s | 3,961 | 162 | #353 |
| 1950s | 18,633 | 178 | #144 |
| 1960s | 32,144 | 153 | #113 |
| 1970s | 50,464 | 192 | #55 |
| 1980s | 49,653 | 222 | #56 |
| 1990s | 27,072 | 43 | #126 |
| 2000s | 11,597 | 8 | #310 |
| 2010s | 6,785 | 0 | #491 |
| 2020–25 | 4,183 | 0 | #416 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.6% of babies named Holly from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Holly is most popular
The index compares Holly's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Holly.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1.92× | 588 |
| New Hampshire | 1.92× | 1,240 |
| Utah | 1.78× | 3,121 |
| Idaho | 1.69× | 1,382 |
| Vermont | 1.69× | 580 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Holly and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Holly (this page) | 205,016 | 1983 |
| Hollie | 18,118 | 1977 |
| Holli | 8,743 | 1974 |
| Holley | 4,486 | 1974 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Holly's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Holly.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Holly (1983).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data