Misty
Misty was the 4140th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 35 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 40th with 6,315 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 938 places. More babies were named Misty in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning misty, from the English word mist · English
Say it MIS-tee /ˈmɪsti/
- Rank in 2025
- #4,140 girls, down 250 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 35girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19776,315 babies
- Total since 1880
- 84,891babies recorded
What does the name Misty mean?
Misty is an English word name, taken from the adjective misty ("full of mist"), from mist plus the ending -y. Like other soft nature words, it came into use as a girls' name in the 20th century and was especially popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Wiktionary notes that it has sometimes also served, like Missy, as a nickname for Melissa, a Greek name meaning "honeybee".
mist (English, “fine water droplets in the air; haze”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Missy, Melissa.
See also: English names, names that mean sky, star, moon or sun.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Misty', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Misty (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Misty popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 237 since 1971.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,140 | 35 |
| 2020 | #3,890 | 37 |
| 2010 | #2,666 | 68 |
| 2000 | #906 | 242 |
| 1990 | #279 | 996 |
| 1980 | #49 | 5,541 |
| 1970 | #266 | 1,151 |
| 1960 | #701 | 212 |
| 1950 | #2,862 | 14 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Misty, counting every spelling?
Misty has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Misty?
35 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Misty (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Misty 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 240 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Misty.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Misty?
About 80,400 people born in the US named Misty are alive today, with a median age of 47; half are between 43 and 51. That makes Misty 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.
Misty by state
How common Misty was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 49 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 Misty: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Misty, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Misty · Sibling names for Misty
Questions about the name Misty
What does Misty mean?
Misty means “misty, from the English word mist” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Misty?
Misty was the 4140th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 35 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 40th with 6,315 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 938 places. More babies were named Misty in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Misty a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Misty in the US.
Where is Misty most popular?
In 2021–2025, Misty was most common in California (0.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by Texas and Texas.