Nancy

Nancy: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “grace”
Origin: English
Say it: NAN-see · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

Originally a medieval English pet form of Anne, later used as an independent name. Anne ultimately comes from Hebrew Hannah.

English names French names American names Names meaning grace Classic names Vintage names

How popular is Nancy?

202486.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Nancy in 2024288

2024 rank#919 girls

Peak year1947

Total US babies since 18801,007,116

Nancy is fading: recent use is about 66% of its level ten years before.

Names like Nancy

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Annegrace; favor · Hebrew
Anngrace · Hebrew
Annettegrace · French
Nanettegrace · French
Nancigrace · English
Nannettegrace · French
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English

Nancy questions

What does the name Nancy mean?

Nancy means "grace". It comes from English. Originally a medieval English pet form of Anne, later used as an independent name. Anne ultimately comes from Hebrew Hannah.

Is Nancy a boy or girl name?

Nancy is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Nancy?

288 US babies were named Nancy in 2024. Its peak year was 1947.

How do you pronounce Nancy?

Nancy is usually pronounced NAN-see.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.