ninan.org

Heather

Girls' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~506,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,261 among girls
Births in 2025
177 527,387 since 1880
Typical age
44 years, median

Heather popularity over time

Heather rank by birth year, 1914–2025Heather ranked #2,638 in 1914 and #1,261 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #3, in 1975.#10#100#1,000#1,261best #3 in 1975192019401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1914–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Heather was used most in 1975, when 24,366 babies were given the name. The name does not appear in the data until 1914. Heather has spent 32 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #1,261, on 177 births. The ten-year change is -37%. It climbed 80 places against the previous year.

Babies named Heather per yearPeaks at 24,366 births in 1975.24,366 in 19750192019401960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Heather?

Roughly 506,100 Heathers are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 527,387 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Heather?

The typical living Heather is 44 years old. The 1970s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Heather a late 20th-century name.

Your Heather

Ages of living people named HeatherHalf of living Heathers are older than 44 and half younger.median 44020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Heather is most common

Relative to births, Washington carries 1.9× the national share of Heathers.

Where Heather is used more than average1 states use the name Heather more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.9× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Heather is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Washington 66 1.9×

Heather in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Heather ranked #792 in 2025 on 46 births. That is 24% higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Heather comes from

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Heather

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Heather Graham American actress 1970 59
Heather Locklear American actress 1961 52
Heather O'Rourke American actress 1975–1988 38
Heather Morris American actress, dancer, singer, and model 1987 38
Heather Watson British female tennis player 1992 35
Heather Langenkamp American actress 1964 34
Heather Mills former glamour model, activist 1968 27
Heather Matarazzo American actress 1982 26
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 5,512 in 1968 to 10,096 in 1969 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/heather.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).