Girl's name
Holly
Say it HOL-ee
English origin holly (tree)
2 syllables
Where Holly is loved, common and rare
Common across Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Rare in England and Wales, four German cities, Canada and six more places.
1 in 274 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Ireland 69thScotland 77thNorthern Ireland 87th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 16 of the 40 official lists, among them Ireland (69th), Scotland (77th) and Northern Ireland (87th).
Show all 16 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 69th 2025 | 77 | 1 in 274 |
| Scotland | 77th 2025 | 54 | 1 in 331 |
| Northern Ireland | 87th 2025 | 24 | 1 in 304 |
| England and Wales | 169th 2025 | 285 | 1 in 889 |
| British Columbia province | 223rd 2023 | 14 | about 1 in 854 |
| Cologne city | 308th 2023 | 3 | about 1 in 2,048 |
| Sweden | 324th 2025 | 22 | about 1 in 1,826 |
| Ontario province | 372nd 2024 | 34 | about 1 in 1,602 |
| The Netherlands | 412th 2025 | 32 | about 1 in 1,907 |
| Poland | 498th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 29,947 |
| Berlin city | 528th 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 2,901 |
| Austria | 1026th 2025 | 3 | 1 in 11,907 |
| Switzerland | 1168th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 8,498 |
| France | 3366th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 57,359 |
| Leipzig city | 212th 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 1,312 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Munich, Rostock, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Holly is an English name taken straight from the holly tree, so its meaning is as plain and familiar as a name's can be. It belongs to the group of girls' names drawn from plants.
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Two syllables, HOL-ee, give it a bright, crisp sound. Variants include Hollie, Holley, Hollee, Holli and Hollye.
Holly is most popular in Ireland, and it is a top-100 name in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well. Elsewhere in Europe it appears far down the lists in Sweden, the Netherlands and France. It is very much a name of the 1980s: in Canadian records from Ontario and British Columbia it peaked in the middle of that decade. Today it is rising in about as many places as it is falling, and it remains a familiar, friendly name.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- HOL-ee, 2 syllables
- Meaning
holly (tree)
- Origin
- English
- Other spellings
- Hollie
- Holley
- Hollee
- Holli
- Hollye
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 12 regions, falling in 5.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 52 | 56 | 56 | 72 | 81 | 95 | 108 | 135 | 137 | 169 |
| Scotland | 31 | 31 | 32 | 40 | 47 | 53 | 48 | 64 | 79 | 77 |
| Northern Ireland | 44 | 38 | 34 | 52 | 69 | 108 | 93 | 88 | 105 | 87 |
| Ireland | 23 | 27 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 31 | 42 | 40 | 39 | 69 |
| Ontario | 319 | 169 | 216 | 285 | 215 | 222 | 276 | 322 | 372 | |
| British Columbia | 137 | 110 | 283 | 120 | 128 | 202 | 286 | 223 | ||
| Victoria | 85 | 86 | 81 | |||||||
| Queensland | 68 | 93 | 78 | 79 | ||||||
| South Australia | 66 | 92 | 71 | |||||||
| New Zealand | 68 | 96 | 73 | 77 | ||||||
| Quebec | 956 | 915 | 730 | 575 | 785 | 810 | 612 | |||
| France | 2573 | 2024 | 2516 | 2530 | 1984 | 3608 | 2504 | 3521 | 1841 | 3366 |
| The Netherlands | 949 | 519 | 468 | 434 | 421 | 405 | 412 | |||
| Austria | 1916 | 860 | 1899 | 874 | 529 | 1303 | 584 | 644 | 1039 | 1026 |
| Switzerland | 1279 | 1292 | 832 | 1527 | 1347 | 970 | 1143 | 1310 | 1540 | 1168 |
| Berlin | 283 | 419 | 332 | 298 | 436 | 437 | 368 | 528 | ||
| Cologne | 615 | 939 | 439 | 332 | 432 | 223 | 318 | 308 | ||
| Bonn | 512 | 371 | 419 | 392 | 176 | 382 | ||||
| Leipzig | 108 | 85 | 189 | 151 | 191 | 201 | 129 | 130 | 75 | 212 |
| Rostock | 283 | 228 | 202 | 141 | 126 | 187 | ||||
| Sweden | 141 | 189 | 210 | 182 | 202 | 226 | 288 | 201 | 189 | 324 |
| Poland | 500 | 491 | 419 | 600 | 498 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 169 | 285 | 112.5 |
| 2024 | 137 | 367 | 142.3 |
| 2023 | 135 | 370 | 144.2 |
| 2022 | 108 | 463 | 175.7 |
| 2021 | 95 | 568 | 207.3 |
| 2020 | 81 | 646 | 240.7 |
| 2019 | 72 | 772 | 275.7 |
| 2018 | 56 | 957 | 332.0 |
| 2017 | 56 | 1,003 | 335.4 |
| 2016 | 52 | 1,098 | 357.5 |
| 2015 | 44 | 1,248 | 405.3 |
| 2014 | 39 | 1,362 | 444.1 |
| 2013 | 33 | 1,546 | 501.2 |
| 2012 | 25 | 1,937 | 601.4 |
| 2011 | 26 | 1,971 | 613.4 |
| 2010 | 25 | 2,055 | 640.1 |
| 2009 | 19 | 2,263 | 722.1 |
| 2008 | 22 | 2,275 | 720.5 |
| 2007 | 20 | 2,237 | 730.8 |
| 2006 | 18 | 2,329 | 778.3 |
| 2005 | 19 | 2,469 | 856.5 |
| 2004 | 17 | 2,730 | 955.0 |
| 2003 | 13 | 3,377 | 1,211.8 |
| 2002 | 12 | 3,435 | 1,284.8 |
| 2001 | 18 | 2,783 | 1,038.5 |
| 2000 | 18 | 2,356 | 862.5 |
| 1999 | 23 | 2,189 | 777.1 |
| 1998 | 23 | 2,419 | 836.5 |
| 1997 | 23 | 2,584 | 881.4 |
| 1996 | 23 | 2,498 | 843.9 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Holly in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1986. First recorded in 1942. Her peak year there: 1985, at 453.8 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Holly per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1985 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Holly
1 in 486 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 716 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 221 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 596 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Holly. Same first letter as Holly.
1 in 225 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 121 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 140 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Kara.
1 in 128 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 293 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Holly.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Holly.
Middle names for Holly
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Holly Grace
2-1 beats · initials HG
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Holly Olivia
2-4 beats · initials HO · Holly slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Holly slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Holly Sophia
2-3 beats · initials HS
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Holly Maria
2-3 beats · initials HM
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Holly Rose
2-1 beats · initials HR
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Holly Julia
2-3 beats · initials HJ
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Holly Miriam
2-3 beats · initials HM
Changes the beat after Holly: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Holly Charlotte
2-2 beats · initials HC
A close match on style, era and popularity. Same length as Holly: 2 syllables.
Same style as Holly
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 486 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 681 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 125 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 662 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 121 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
1 in 596 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Holly across countries and decades.
Famous people named Holly
Holly Hunter, Holly Marie Combs, Holly Madison, Holly Valance, Holly Black, Holly Holm, Holly Bradshaw and Holly Robinson Peete.
Show all 8Show less
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American actress (born 1958)
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American actress born 1973
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American television personality born 1979
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Australian actress and singer born 1983
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American children's fiction writer born 1971
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American boxer and mixed martial artist (born 1981)
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British pole vaulter born 1991
-
American actress and singer born 1964
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Holly
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Holly?
Her best rank is No. 69 in Ireland in 2025, about 1 in 274 girls. She is in the published lists of 16 of our 40 regions.
What does Holly mean?
Wiktionary glosses Holly as "holly (tree)".
How do you pronounce Holly?
HOL-ee, with 2 syllables.
Is Holly getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 12 regions, falling in 5.
Which sister names go with Holly?
The deck's top five sisters for Holly: Amber, April, Jessica, Hope and Kate. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.