girl's name
Indie
IN-dee
- Origin Disputed
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (E&W)
- Births on record 10,519
the United States
#632
2025 births
Indie is a girl's name with no single origin. It is read as a short form of India or Indiana, as a nod to independent music and film, and as an adjective meaning independent — and all three are current.
- Indie is a name of Disputed origin.
- Peaked in US records in 2022, when 579 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in US records.
- Today about 1 in 1,413 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1959.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Indie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. Indie is more popular in England and Wales — see the country table below. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 6 |
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 189 |
| 2010s | 1,553 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,920 |
What Indie means
Indie has no fixed meaning. Where it shortens India it carries the country's name; where it stands alone it borrows the cultural sense of independent, self-produced and outside the mainstream.
Where Indie comes from
Indie shortens India — from the river Indus, itself from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning river — and Indiana, the American state name meaning land of the Indians. Its independent life comes from a different source entirely: indie as a clipping of independent, applied to record labels from the 1940s and to a whole musical and cinematic culture from the 1980s. Parents choosing Indie today are mostly drawing on that cultural sense rather than on either place name, which makes it one of very few names taken from a subculture.
Indie in use
Our data shows Indie peaking in 2022 and still rising, at 134 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1959 but was effectively unused until the 2000s — the lag places its real arrival with the indie music era rather than with either place name.
How popular is Indie?
In 2025, Indie was given to 373 babies in England and Wales, ranking #134 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Where Indie is used
England and Wales figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year. The historical chart above uses US records, the only series running back to 1880. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Indie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Indie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Indie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Indie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Indie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Indie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Indie
What does the name Indie mean?
There is no single meaning. It shortens India or Indiana, and separately borrows the cultural sense of independent.
Is Indie short for India?
It can be, but most modern use is standalone and draws on the indie music and film sense.
Where does India's name come from?
From the river Indus, itself from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning river.
How popular is the name Indie?
In 2025, Indie was given to 373 babies in England and Wales, ranking #134 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Is Indie a girl's or a boy's name?
Indie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Indie?
Indie has 2 syllables.
When was Indie most popular?
Indie peaked in 2022, when 579 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Indie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Indie currently ranks #109 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.