Girl's name
Nancy
Say it NAN-see
English origin from Ann, grace, gracious, graced with child
2 syllables
Where Nancy is loved, common and rare
Common across England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Rare in Scotland, Ontario, Italy and two more places.
1 in 347 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
England and Wales 78thNorthern Ireland 96thIreland 99th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 8 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (78th), Northern Ireland (96th) and Ireland (99th).
Show all 8 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 78th 2025 | 604 | 1 in 419 |
| Northern Ireland | 96th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 347 |
| Ireland | 99th 2025 | 48 | 1 in 440 |
| Scotland | 211th 2025 | 18 | 1 in 994 |
| Ontario province | 506th 2024 | 25 | about 1 in 2,179 |
| Italy | 608th 2024 | 19 | 1 in 9,430 |
| France | 1810th 2025 | 15 | 1 in 19,120 |
| Leipzig city | 344th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 2,624 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, British Columbia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, 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: Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source
About the name
Nancy began as a medieval pet form of Ann and Agnes, in the same way that Betsy came from Elizabeth. Through Ann it carries the Hebrew meaning 'grace, gracious, graced with child'.
Read the restShow less
Two syllables, said NAN-see, with the stress on the first. Nan and Nance are traditional short forms. Nanci and Nancye are rarer spellings.
This was a very common name in the middle of the last century, with Canadian records putting its peak in the early 1950s. It has since come back in the British Isles, where it is a top-100 name in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It is rising in several regions and falling in none, which makes it one of the vintage names enjoying a revival.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- NAN-see, 2 syllables
- Meaning
- from Ann,
grace, gracious, graced with child
- Origin
- English
- Other spellings
- Ann
- Nance
- Nanny
- Nancye
- Nansy
- Nan
- Nanci
- Nansi
Etymology
Medieval diminutive of Ann and Agnes. Compare Betsy, Patsy.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 6 regions, falling in none.
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 | 70 | 67 | 64 | 64 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 81 | 78 |
| Scotland | 502 | 446 | 348 | 447 | 370 | 245 | 260 | 323 | 260 | 211 |
| Northern Ireland | 151 | 103 | 273 | 119 | 95 | 104 | 135 | 126 | 127 | 96 |
| Ireland | 208 | 189 | 280 | 201 | 197 | 228 | 157 | 148 | 135 | 99 |
| Ontario | 705 | 514 | 469 | 738 | 650 | 591 | 738 | 754 | 506 | |
| Quebec | 915 | |||||||||
| France | 1484 | 1692 | 1989 | 1668 | 1984 | 1640 | 1957 | 2420 | 1523 | 1810 |
| Berlin | 740 | 985 | 550 | 668 | 642 | 654 | 969 | |||
| Sweden | 533 | 490 | 589 | 669 | 631 | 570 | 713 | |||
| Italy | 417 | 339 | 354 | 426 | 450 | 608 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 78 | 604 | 238.5 |
| 2024 | 81 | 578 | 224.0 |
| 2023 | 70 | 658 | 256.5 |
| 2022 | 67 | 759 | 288.0 |
| 2021 | 65 | 797 | 290.8 |
| 2020 | 66 | 777 | 289.5 |
| 2019 | 64 | 816 | 291.4 |
| 2018 | 64 | 819 | 284.1 |
| 2017 | 67 | 861 | 287.9 |
| 2016 | 70 | 842 | 274.1 |
| 2015 | 71 | 817 | 265.3 |
| 2014 | 90 | 615 | 200.5 |
| 2013 | 111 | 487 | 157.9 |
| 2012 | 124 | 456 | 141.6 |
| 2011 | 135 | 414 | 128.8 |
| 2010 | 143 | 388 | 120.9 |
| 2009 | 157 | 349 | 111.4 |
| 2008 | 184 | 284 | 89.9 |
| 2007 | 187 | 289 | 94.4 |
| 2006 | 220 | 222 | 74.2 |
| 2005 | 231 | 200 | 69.4 |
| 2004 | 267 | 158 | 55.3 |
| 2003 | 284 | 142 | 51.0 |
| 2002 | 271 | 145 | 54.2 |
| 2001 | 298 | 122 | 45.5 |
| 2000 | 313 | 110 | 40.3 |
| 1999 | 292 | 121 | 43.0 |
| 1998 | 300 | 121 | 41.8 |
| 1997 | 329 | 104 | 35.5 |
| 1996 | 251 | 156 | 52.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Nancy in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1957. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1952, at 1,787.0 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Nancy per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1952 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 Nancy
1 in 346 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 1,174 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 270 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 160 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 80 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 291 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 754 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 649 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
1 in 911 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nancy.
Middle names for Nancy
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Nancy Grace
2-1 beats · initials NG
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Nancy Olivia
2-4 beats · initials NO · Nancy slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Nancy slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Nancy Sophia
2-3 beats · initials NS
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Nancy Maria
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Nancy Rose
2-1 beats · initials NR
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Nancy Emily
2-3 beats · initials NE · Nancy slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Nancy slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Nancy Julia
2-3 beats · initials NJ
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Nancy Miriam
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nancy: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Nancy
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 515 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 604 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 1,214 in Northern Ireland
91% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 291 in Northern Ireland
90% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 1,174 in Ireland
90% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 1,056 in Ireland
89% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 2,183 in England and Wales
88% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
1 in 660 in Ireland
88% alike: moves with Nancy across countries and decades.
Famous people named Nancy
Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Reagan, Nancy Ajram, Nancy Sinatra, Nancy Cartwright, Nancy Wake, Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor and Nancy Mitford.
Show all 8Show less
-
American politician (born 1940)
-
First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 1921 to 2016
-
Lebanese singer and actress born 1983
-
American singer and actress (born 1940)
-
American actress born 1957
-
New Zealander and Australian war heroine 1912 to 2011
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
First female Member of Parliament to take her seat (1879-1964)
-
British writer 1904 to 1973
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Nancy
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 Nancy?
Her best rank is No. 78 in England and Wales in 2025, about 1 in 419 girls. She is in the published lists of 8 of our 40 regions.
What does Nancy mean?
Nancy takes her meaning from Ann: "grace, gracious, graced with child", per Wiktionary.
How do you pronounce Nancy?
NAN-see, with 2 syllables.
Is Nancy getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 6 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Nancy?
The deck's top five sisters for Nancy: Faye, Sally, Connie, Bonnie and Annie. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.