Heather
Heather was the 1264th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 177 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 3rd with 24,301 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 299 places. More babies were named Heather in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning heather (plant) · English
Say it HEH-ther /ˈhɛðɚ/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,264 girls, up 179 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 177girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 197524,301 babies
- Total since 1880
- 527,387babies recorded
What does the name Heather mean?
Heather is the name of the low evergreen shrub of moors and heaths, used as a given name. Wiktionary notes that it was one of the plant names taken up as girls' names in the 19th century, and that the surname Heather is a separate habitational name for someone living on a heath. The plant word comes from Middle English hather, of uncertain origin. Heather was very popular in the US in the 1970s and 1980s.
hather (Middle English, “heather”)
How sure is this? Well established. The plant word's own origin is uncertain.
Related names: Heath.
See also: English names, names that mean flower.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Heather', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'heather' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Heather popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,477 since 1962.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,264 | 177 |
| 2020 | #1,443 | 151 |
| 2010 | #682 | 421 |
| 2000 | #125 | 2,684 |
| 1990 | #19 | 14,220 |
| 1980 | #6 | 19,973 |
| 1970 | #19 | 14,669 |
| 1960 | #298 | 971 |
| 1950 | #461 | 310 |
| 1940 | #673 | 106 |
| 1930 | #3,477 | 8 |
| 1920 | #5,302 | 5 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Heather, counting every spelling?
Heather has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,207 for girls in 2025, against #1,264 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Heather?
177 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Heather (0.05 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Heather born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 47 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Heather.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Heather?
About 500,000 people born in the US named Heather are alive today, with a median age of 45; half are between 39 and 51. That makes Heather mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Heather by state
How common Heather was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Washington (2.0×). In 26 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Heather: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Heather, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Heather · Sibling names for Heather
Questions about the name Heather
What does Heather mean?
Heather means “heather (plant)” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Heather?
Heather was the 1264th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 177 babies. Its best year was 1975, when it ranked 3rd with 24,301 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 299 places. More babies were named Heather in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Heather a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Heather in the US.
Where is Heather most popular?
In 2021–2025, Heather was most common in Alaska (0.58 per 1,000 girls), followed by Washington and Virginia.