ninan.org

Nancy

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~670,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#965 among girls
Births in 2025
265 1,007,393 since 1880
Typical age
70 years, median

Nancy popularity over time

Nancy rank by birth year, 1880–2025Nancy ranked #62 in 1880 and #965 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #6, in 1950.#10#100#1,000#965best #6 in 195018901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Nancy in 1947 than in any other year — 32,502 of them. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Nancy has spent 80 years inside the national top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #965, with 265 births that year. Over ten years the count has fallen 23%. Year on year the rank dropped by 51.

Babies named Nancy per yearPeaks at 32,502 births in 1947.32,502 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Nancy?

About 670,100 people named Nancy are alive in the United States today. That is out of 1,007,393 recorded births 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 Nancy?

Median age among living Nancys: 70. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Nancy a mid-century perennial name.

Your Nancy

Ages of living people named NancyHalf of living Nancys are older than 70 and half younger.median 70020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Nancy is most common

Nancy is 2.8× as common in Pennsylvania as it is nationally. Kentucky, Indiana and Wisconsin follow.

Where Nancy is used more than average5 states use the name Nancy more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.4× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 1.5× the national rateINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 2.8× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.4× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: 1.6× the national rateKYWest 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 Nancy is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 250 2.8×
Kentucky 50 1.6×
Indiana 78 1.5×
Wisconsin 55 1.4×
California 442 1.4×

Nancy in England and Wales

ONS recorded 604 births named Nancy in 2025, ranking it #78. That is 22% lower 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 Nancy comes from

Medieval diminutive of Ann and Agnes. Compare Betsy, Patsy.

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

Notable people named Nancy

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Nancy Pelosi American politician 1940 107
Nancy Reagan First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 1921–2016 106
Nancy Ajram Lebanese singer and actress 1971 61
Nancy Sinatra American singer and actress 1940 56
Nancy Cartwright American actress 1957 47
Nancy Wake New Zealander and Australian war heroine 1912–2011 41
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor first female Member of Parliament to take her seat 1879–1964 40
Nancy Mitford British writer 1904–1973 38
Photo credits (7)

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/nancy.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).