Girl's name
Ivy
Say it EYE-vee
English origin ivy (plant)
2 syllables
Where Ivy is loved, common and rare
Loved in England and Wales and one more place. Common across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ontario and ten more places. Rare in Switzerland, three German cities, Sweden and four more places.
1 in 124 girls born in Scotland in 2025
England and Wales 9thScotland 16thOntario 39th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 24 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (9th), Scotland (16th) and Ontario (39th).
Show all 24 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 9th 2025 | 1,698 | 1 in 149 |
| Queensland state | 14th 2025 | 177 | rank only |
| South Australia state | 14th 2025 | 56 | rank only |
| Scotland | 16th 2025 | 144 | 1 in 124 |
| Victoria state | 18th 2025 | 206 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 29th 2025 | 91 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 30th 2025 | 172 | rank only |
| Ontario province | 39th 2024 | 200 | about 1 in 272 |
| Northern Ireland | 39th 2025 | 44 | 1 in 166 |
| British Columbia province | 43rd 2023 | 49 | about 1 in 244 |
| Ireland | 50th 2025 | 95 | 1 in 222 |
| The Netherlands | 76th 2025 | 167 | about 1 in 365 |
| Quebec province | 76th 2025 | 72 | about 1 in 361 |
| Switzerland | 151st 2025 | 47 | 1 in 723 |
| Berlin city | 173rd 2023 | 18 | about 1 in 806 |
| Sweden | 205th 2025 | 41 | about 1 in 980 |
| Cologne city | 217th 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 1,229 |
| France | 347th 2025 | 155 | 1 in 1,850 |
| Austria | 381st 2025 | 13 | 1 in 2,748 |
| Poland | 427th 2025 | 6 | 1 in 19,965 |
| Italy | 736th 2024 | 14 | 1 in 12,798 |
| Nova Scotia province | 5th 2025 | 24 | rank only |
| Rostock city | 92nd 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 492 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: Munich, Leipzig, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: 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: Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); NISRA (Northern Ireland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Nova Scotia Vital Statistics (data.novascotia.ca) (Nova Scotia); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Taken directly from the plant, Ivy is one of the English nature names. An ivy branch was once hung outside places that sold alcohol, so the name may also have begun as a surname for the keeper of such an establishment.
Read the restShow less
Two syllables, EYE-vee, give it a bright, quick sound. Ive and Ivi are rare variants.
Ivy is a top-ten name in England and Wales and ranks high in Queensland and South Australia. It is much less common in continental Europe, appearing only lower down the lists in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. The Ontario and British Columbia records place its peak in 2021, and it is rising in most places where it is tracked, with a fall recorded in only one.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- EYE-vee, 2 syllables
- Meaning
ivy (plant)
- Origin
- English
- Other spellings
- Ive
- Ivi
Etymology
From ivy, the name of a plant. An ivy branch used to be hung outside an establishment to advertise that it sold alcohol, so it may originally have been an occupational surname for the proprietor of such an establishment.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 9 of 22 regions, falling in 1.
Show the yearsShow less
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 | 33 | 25 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 9 |
| Scotland | 54 | 58 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 16 |
| Northern Ireland | 86 | 64 | 50 | 41 | 30 | 34 | 40 | 26 | 35 | 39 |
| Ireland | 145 | 137 | 84 | 78 | 74 | 63 | 57 | 49 | 60 | 50 |
| Ontario | 57 | 59 | 43 | 36 | 41 | 33 | 35 | 39 | 39 | |
| British Columbia | 46 | 46 | 35 | 54 | 37 | 28 | 43 | 43 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 20 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | ||
| New South Wales | 15 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 12 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 20 | 30 |
| Victoria | 15 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 18 |
| Queensland | 18 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| South Australia | 17 | 28 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
| New Zealand | 31 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 27 | 29 |
| Quebec | 168 | 203 | 110 | 133 | 106 | 90 | 65 | 66 | 83 | 76 |
| France | 775 | 688 | 514 | 478 | 494 | 483 | 446 | 371 | 338 | 347 |
| The Netherlands | 58 | 62 | 58 | 64 | 60 | 47 | 63 | 64 | 76 | |
| Austria | 468 | 756 | 417 | 1047 | 529 | 475 | 437 | 407 | 361 | 381 |
| Switzerland | 424 | 337 | 355 | 297 | 245 | 256 | 204 | 188 | 178 | 151 |
| Berlin | 542 | 253 | 184 | 398 | 222 | 154 | 368 | 173 | ||
| Munich | 238 | 227 | ||||||||
| Cologne | 370 | 433 | 439 | 449 | 320 | 649 | 643 | 217 | ||
| Rostock | 283 | 199 | 158 | 92 | ||||||
| Sweden | 568 | 535 | 436 | 440 | 377 | 586 | 280 | 250 | 205 | |
| Catalonia | 620 | 429 | 522 | |||||||
| Italy | 1236 | 1390 | 736 | |||||||
| Poland | 569 | 437 | 496 | 603 | 408 | 616 | 766 | 495 | 523 | 427 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 1,698 | 670.4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 1,956 | 758.2 |
| 2023 | 7 | 1,997 | 778.4 |
| 2022 | 6 | 2,195 | 833.0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 2,245 | 819.2 |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,166 | 807.0 |
| 2019 | 12 | 2,158 | 770.6 |
| 2018 | 14 | 2,104 | 729.9 |
| 2017 | 25 | 1,822 | 609.2 |
| 2016 | 33 | 1,509 | 491.3 |
| 2015 | 42 | 1,275 | 414.0 |
| 2014 | 54 | 1,103 | 359.7 |
| 2013 | 66 | 867 | 281.1 |
| 2012 | 88 | 633 | 196.5 |
| 2011 | 168 | 310 | 96.5 |
| 2010 | 227 | 220 | 68.5 |
| 2009 | 281 | 170 | 54.2 |
| 2008 | 322 | 141 | 44.7 |
| 2007 | 390 | 106 | 34.6 |
| 2006 | 497 | 76 | 25.4 |
| 2005 | 494 | 71 | 24.6 |
| 2004 | 758 | 37 | 12.9 |
| 2003 | 799 | 33 | 11.8 |
| 2002 | 998 | 22 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 962 | 22 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 1033 | 20 | 7.3 |
| 1999 | 1216 | 16 | 5.7 |
| 1998 | 2165 | 7 | 2.4 |
| 1997 | 1666 | 10 | 3.4 |
| 1996 | 1222 | 15 | 5.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Ivy in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2015. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 2021, at 471.1 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Ivy per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2021 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 Ivy
1 in 127 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 143 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 138 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 109 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 141 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 82 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 239 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 459 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
1 in 70 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ivy.
Middle names for Ivy
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Ivy Grace
2-1 beats · initials IG
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Ivy Olivia
2-4 beats · initials IO · Ivy slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Ivy slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Ivy Sophia
2-3 beats · initials IS
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Ivy Maria
2-3 beats · initials IM
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Ivy Rose
2-1 beats · initials IR
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Ivy Emily
2-3 beats · initials IE · Ivy slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Ivy slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Ivy Julia
2-3 beats · initials IJ
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Ivy Miriam
2-3 beats · initials IM
Changes the beat after Ivy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Ivy
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
97% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 143 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 459 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 184 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 326 in England and Wales
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 140 in Northern Ireland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
1 in 240 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Ivy across countries and decades.
Famous people named Ivy
Ivy Compton-Burnett, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Ivy Dumont and Ivy Ling Po.
Show all 4Show less
-
English writer (1884–1969)
-
South African politician (1937-2009)
-
Governor-General of the Bahamas born 1930
-
Hong Kong actress and singer born 1939
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Ivy
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 Ivy?
Her best rank is No. 9 in England and Wales in 2025, about 1 in 149 girls. She is in the published lists of 24 of our 40 regions.
What does Ivy mean?
Wiktionary glosses Ivy as "ivy (plant)".
How do you pronounce Ivy?
EYE-vee, with 2 syllables.
Is Ivy getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 9 of 22 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Ivy?
The deck's top five sisters for Ivy: Evie, Willow, Harper, Sienna and Ellie. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.