unisex name

Hedy

  • Origin Dutch
  • Gender Unisex
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Rare
  • Births on record 3,068

Hedy is a unisex name with 2 syllables. It is given to both girls and boys — about 77% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 7 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

  • Hedy is a name of Dutch origin.
  • Peaked in 1942, when 109 babies were given the name.
  • After peaking in the 1940s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
  • Today about 1 in 473,709 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • Hedy started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1915.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Hedy over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

796
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Hedy by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 38
1920s 180
1930s 211
1940s 796
1950s 454
1960s 239
1970s 99
1980s 59
1990s 37
2000s 65
2010s 90
2020s (to 2025) 48

How popular is Hedy?

In 2025, Hedy was given to 7 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Where Hedy is used

France #3,090 10 in 2025
Canada #3,969 5 in 2022
England & Wales #4,647 5 in 2019
United States #13,103 7 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

How Hedy is spelled

Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.

Spelling What it is Births on record
Hédy Hédy is a rare spelling of Hedy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 25 times, mostly in France. 25

Names that peaked alongside Hedy

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Hedy also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Hedy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Hedy

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Hedy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Hedy

How popular is the name Hedy?

In 2025, Hedy was given to 7 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Is Hedy a girl's or a boy's name?

Hedy is used for both girls and boys. About 77% of recorded births with this name are girls.

How many syllables are in Hedy?

Hedy has 2 syllables.

When was Hedy most popular?

Hedy peaked in 1942, when 109 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1940s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.

Is Hedy a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Hedy currently ranks #3,090 in the United States. After peaking in the 1940s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.

Was Hedy originally a boys' or girls' name?

Hedy was given mostly to girls in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to boys.