Nancy

Meaning: Grace, favor
Origin: Hebrew — Medieval short form of Ann

Meaning: Pure, chaste, holy
Origin: Greek — Medieval short form of Agnes

Nicknames: Nan, Nance

Girl's name · #967 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Nancy is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1950, when it ranked #6. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 1.0 million girls since 1880, ranked #967 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Nancy is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 26 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Nancy ranks in other countries and regions.

#78 in England & Wales (2025) · #96 in N. Ireland (2025) · #99 in Ireland (2025) · #211 in Mexico (2024) · #211 in Scotland (2025) · #621 in Italy (2024) · #698 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,004 in Sweden (2025) · #1,065 in Canada (2025) · #2,168 in France (2025) · #3,165 in Austria (2024) · #1,371 in Belgium (2023) and 5 more.

Famous Nancys

Nancy Pelosi — American politician (born 1940)
Nancy Reagan — First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 (1921–2016)
Nancy Ajram — Lebanese singer (born 1983)
Nancy Sinatra — American singer (born 1940)
Nancy Cartwright — American actress (born 1957)
Nancy Travis — American actress (born 1961)
Nancy Mitford — British writer (1904–1973)
Nancy Allen — American actress (born 1950)
Nancy Meyers — American filmmaker (born 1949)
Nancy Marchand — American actress (1928–2000)

In stories & tradition

Nancy Drew — Fictional character in a juvenile mystery series
Nancy Wheeler — Stranger Things character
Nancy Thompson — Main character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series

What Nancys become

Among 2,285 notable people named Nancy:

Artists & writers appear 1.27× more often than among typical names — e.g. Nancy Mitford, British writer (1904–1973).

Similar names: Agnes · Kathleen · Natasha · Stacy · Cynthia · Sandra

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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