Heidi
Heidi was the 340th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 894 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 60th; the most babies were born in 1972 (4,723). Over the last ten years it has moved up 3 places. More babies were named Heidi in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Adelheid ('noble kind') · German
Say it HY-dee /ˈhaɪdi/
- Rank in 2025
- #340 girls, up 42 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 894girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19724,723 babies
- Total since 1880
- 149,687babies recorded
What does the name Heidi mean?
Heidi is a Swiss German pet form of Adelheid, the German form of Adelaide and Alice. DMNES derives the name from Old High German adal, "noble", and heit, "kind, sort". Heidi became known worldwide through Johanna Spyri's children's novel Heidi (1880), as Wiktionary notes. It was most popular in the US in the 1960s and 1970s.
adal (Old High German, “noble”)heit (Old High German, “kind, sort”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Adelaide, Adelheid, Alice, Heide.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean noble.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Heidi', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Alice', DMNES, Durham University
- Johanna Spyri, Heidi (Project Gutenberg eBook #1448), Project Gutenberg
Heidi popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 361 since 1960.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #340 | 894 |
| 2020 | #382 | 810 |
| 2010 | #303 | 1,069 |
| 2000 | #351 | 880 |
| 1990 | #200 | 1,466 |
| 1980 | #79 | 4,027 |
| 1970 | #81 | 4,642 |
| 1960 | #170 | 2,341 |
| 1950 | #520 | 247 |
| 1940 | #1,160 | 40 |
| 1930 | #2,937 | 10 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Heidi, counting every spelling?
Heidi is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #324 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #340 for Heidi on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,014 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heidi | 894 | #340 | 4,321 |
| Heidy | 101 | #1,917 | 540 |
| Haydee | 19 | #6,197 | 119 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Heidi?
894 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Heidi (0.25 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Heidi 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 9 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Heidi.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Heidi?
About 138,800 people born in the US named Heidi are alive today, with a median age of 49; half are between 36 and 58. That makes Heidi 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.
Heidi by state
How common Heidi was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Arkansas (3.0×), Oklahoma (2.9×), West Virginia (2.8×), Alabama (2.5×), Kentucky (2.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, Maine, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Heidi: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Heidi, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Heidi · Sibling names for Heidi
Questions about the name Heidi
What does Heidi mean?
Heidi means “pet form of Adelheid ('noble kind')” (German origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Heidi?
Heidi was the 340th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 894 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 60th; the most babies were born in 1972 (4,723). Over the last ten years it has moved up 3 places. More babies were named Heidi in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Heidi a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Heidi in the US.
Where is Heidi most popular?
In 2021–2025, Heidi was most common in Arkansas (1.59 per 1,000 girls), followed by Oklahoma and West Virginia.