girl's name
Ivy
EYE-vee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 100 (E&W)
- Births on record 123,166
the United States
#39
2025 births
Ivy is a girl's name of English origin naming the climbing evergreen plant, from the Old English ifig. It joined the Victorian wave of botanical names, and the plant's habit of clinging as it grows gave it a long association with fidelity and lasting attachment.
- Ivy is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in US records in 2024, when 5,367 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in US records.
- Today about 1 in 310 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ivy over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. Ivy 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 595 |
| 1890s | 881 |
| 1900s | 826 |
| 1910s | 1,758 |
| 1920s | 1,720 |
| 1930s | 1,163 |
| 1940s | 1,176 |
| 1950s | 2,887 |
| 1960s | 2,213 |
| 1970s | 2,777 |
| 1980s | 3,253 |
| 1990s | 5,240 |
| 2000s | 9,380 |
| 2010s | 23,613 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 28,691 |
What Ivy means
Ivy means the ivy plant, from the Old English ifig. The plant's symbolism does much of the work: because ivy clings and stays green through winter, it has been read since antiquity as a figure for faithfulness and enduring attachment.
Where Ivy comes from
Ivy comes from the Old English ifig, the name of the climbing evergreen, from a common Germanic root. The plant carried symbolic weight long before the name existed: Greeks and Romans associated ivy with Dionysus and Bacchus, whose devotees wore ivy wreaths, and medieval European tradition paired it with holly in midwinter, a pairing preserved in the carol The Holly and the Ivy. Its evergreen persistence and clinging growth made it a standard emblem of fidelity in wedding imagery. Ivy came into use as a given name in the nineteenth century, alongside Hazel, Olive, and Violet, and has seen a marked revival in recent decades.
Ivy in use
Ivy's association with fidelity comes from its clinging growth and its habit of staying green all winter.
How popular is Ivy?
In 2025, Ivy was given to 1,698 babies in England and Wales, ranking #9 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Where Ivy 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.
How Ivy is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ïvy | Ïvy is a rare spelling of Ivy, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
Names that peaked alongside Ivy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ivy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ivy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ivy 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 Ivy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ivy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ivy
What does the name Ivy mean?
Ivy names the climbing evergreen plant, from the Old English ifig.
What does ivy symbolize?
Fidelity and lasting attachment, from the plant's clinging growth and evergreen leaves.
When did Ivy become a first name?
Ivy came into use in the nineteenth century during the Victorian fashion for plant names.
How popular is the name Ivy?
In 2025, Ivy was given to 1,698 babies in England and Wales, ranking #9 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Is Ivy a girl's or a boy's name?
Ivy is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ivy?
Ivy has 2 syllables.
When was Ivy most popular?
Ivy peaked in 2024, when 5,367 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Ivy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ivy currently ranks #9 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.