Girls' name · peaked in 1947
Nancy name popularity since 1925
956,635 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nancy. Half of them were born in 1951 or earlier, so the typical Nancy is about 75 years old in 2026. Nancy peaked in 1947 as the #7 name for girls, and it ranked #967 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 956,635
- Named Nancy, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #967
- for girls in 2025 (265 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 953,809 girls · 2,826 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 1.69× its national share
Peak year is the year Nancy 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.
Nancy births per year, 1925–2025
1947 was the biggest year for Nancy both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1928 and 1933, Nancy became 2.5× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1968 and 1973, its share of baby girls fell by 50%, from 1 in 183 to 1 in 370.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Nancy's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nancy.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nancy 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 | 26,322 | 98 | – |
| 1930s | 142,488 | 558 | #9 |
| 1940s | 252,061 | 585 | #7 |
| 1950s | 286,812 | 540 | #9 |
| 1960s | 142,724 | 411 | #32 |
| 1970s | 41,850 | 211 | #82 |
| 1980s | 25,493 | 260 | #108 |
| 1990s | 19,495 | 138 | #160 |
| 2000s | 10,959 | 25 | #318 |
| 2010s | 3,928 | 0 | #814 |
| 2020–25 | 1,677 | 0 | #967 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
52.1% of babies named Nancy from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Nancy is most popular
The index compares Nancy'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 Nancy.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 1.69× | 38,851 |
| Vermont | 1.67× | 2,687 |
| Maine | 1.59× | 6,550 |
| Rhode Island | 1.59× | 5,439 |
| West Virginia | 1.52× | 12,854 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Nancy 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nancy (this page) | 953,809 | 1947 |
| Nanci | 6,474 | 1952 |
| Nancie | 3,047 | 1953 |
| Nancee | 1,358 | 1950 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nancy's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nancy.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nancy (1947).
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