Ivy
Ivy was the 39th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,117 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 36th with 5,343 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 91 places. More babies were named Ivy in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning the ivy plant · English
Say it EYE-vee /ˈaɪvi/
- Rank in 2025
- #39 girls, up 18 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 5,117girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20245,343 babies
- Total since 1880
- 86,173babies recorded
What does the name Ivy mean?
Ivy is the English plant name used as a given name. Wiktionary gives a possible older surname origin, linked to the ivy branch once hung outside taverns, but marks that etymology as needing verification. It is also a rare pet form of Ivan.
ivy (English, “ivy (plant)”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Other explanations you may read: From a tavern-keeper's surname (ivy bush sign).
See also: English names.
Ivy popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 3,460 since 1880, 7 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #39 | 5,117 |
| 2020 | #57 | 3,842 |
| 2010 | #299 | 1,090 |
| 2000 | #352 | 880 |
| 1990 | #769 | 266 |
| 1980 | #646 | 282 |
| 1970 | #648 | 254 |
| 1960 | #604 | 273 |
| 1950 | #670 | 159 |
| 1940 | #882 | 66 |
| 1930 | #720 | 94 |
| 1920 | #602 | 142 |
| 1910 | #475 | 72 |
| 1900 | #383 | 76 |
| 1890 | #311 | 66 |
| 1880 | #273 | 33 |
How popular is Ivy, counting every spelling?
Ivy is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #40 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #39 for Ivy on its own. Together these spellings went to 5,557 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivy | 5,117 | #39 | 24,730 |
| Ivey | 282 | #926 | 1,286 |
| Ivie | 112 | #1,801 | 470 |
| Ivee | 32 | #4,395 | 200 |
| Ivi | 9 | #10,430 | 50 |
| Ivvy | 5 | #15,850 | 34 |
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 Ivy?
5,117 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ivy (1.42 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Ivy born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 38. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ivy.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ivy?
About 75,800 people born in the US named Ivy are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 4 and 21. That makes Ivy a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Ivy by state
How common Ivy was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (3.5×), Maine (3.2×), Vermont (3.0×), South Dakota (2.8×), West Virginia (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, New York, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ivy: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ivy, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ivy · Sibling names for Ivy
Questions about the name Ivy
What does Ivy mean?
Ivy means “the ivy plant” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ivy?
Ivy was the 39th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,117 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 36th with 5,343 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 91 places. More babies were named Ivy in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ivy a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Ivy in the US.
Where is Ivy most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ivy was most common in North Dakota (10.73 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maine and Vermont.