girl's name
Misty
MIS-tee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 85,548
Scotland
#603
1979 births
Misty is a word name with no older root — it is the English weather word used directly, appearing in American records only from the 1940s and peaking within a single generation. We record 85,244 lifetime births for it, strongest in England and Wales.
- Misty is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1977, when 6,333 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 94,733 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1944.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Misty over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 40 |
| 1950s | 276 |
| 1960s | 5,294 |
| 1970s | 42,512 |
| 1980s | 29,214 |
| 1990s | 5,419 |
| 2000s | 1,428 |
| 2010s | 520 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 188 |
What Misty means
Misty means covered in or resembling mist. It is the ordinary English adjective used unchanged, so the meaning is exact rather than reconstructed from an older language.
Where Misty comes from
Misty is the English adjective, from mist, a Germanic word with cognates across the North Sea languages and a distant relation to the Greek omikhle, a fog. As a given name it is entirely modern: our records carry it only from 1943, and it belongs with Dawn, Summer and Autumn among mid-century American word names drawn from weather and season rather than from any naming tradition.
Misty in use
Misty peaked in the United States in 1977, when 6,333 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 3589th in England and Wales and 4,136th in the United States on 35 births — across 85,548 lifetime births. Our records carry it only from 1943, so its whole rise and decline fits inside eighty years.
How popular is Misty?
In 2025, Misty was given to 35 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Misty is used
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.
Names that peaked alongside Misty
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Misty also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Misty over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Misty 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 Misty
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Misty — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Misty
What does the name Misty mean?
Covered in mist — the ordinary English adjective, used unchanged.
Is Misty an old name?
No. Our records carry it only from 1943.
Which names are like it?
Dawn, Summer and Autumn — mid-century American word names from weather and season.
How popular is Misty?
4136th in the United States, down from a 1977 peak of 6,333 births.
Is Misty a girl's or a boy's name?
Misty is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Misty?
Misty has 2 syllables.
Is Misty a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Misty currently ranks #3,322 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.