girl's name
Nettie
NET-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 49,562
Nettie is a suffix that became a name — it is the tail end of Antoinette, Jeanette and Annette, cut loose and used on its own, so it began as the part of a name that carried no meaning at all.
- Nettie is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 1,172 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 150,716 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Nettie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,318 |
| 1890s | 6,543 |
| 1900s | 5,680 |
| 1910s | 9,356 |
| 1920s | 9,036 |
| 1930s | 5,471 |
| 1940s | 3,729 |
| 1950s | 2,185 |
| 1960s | 908 |
| 1970s | 418 |
| 1980s | 295 |
| 1990s | 210 |
| 2000s | 138 |
| 2010s | 136 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 108 |
What Nettie means
Nettie has no meaning of its own. It is the diminutive ending of several French feminine names, detached and used independently, so any sense it carries is borrowed from whichever name it came from.
Where Nettie comes from
Nettie is the -ette ending of French feminine diminutives — Antoinette, Jeanette, Annette, Henriette — taken as a name in its own right. The ending itself means only smallness or affection, so the practice detaches the part that never carried the meaning. American naming did this repeatedly in the nineteenth century, giving Etta from Henrietta and Nita from Juanita by the same route. Our data marks the name reviving.
Nettie in use
Nettie peaked in the United States in 1918, when 1,172 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It now ranks 5283rd in England and Wales on 4 births and 5581st in the United States on 22, across 49,562 lifetime births in two of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1880, and the revival is from a very low base.
How popular is Nettie?
In 2025, Nettie was given to 22 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Nettie 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 Nettie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nettie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nettie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Nettie 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.
- Dutch
- Annette Antoinette
- Finnish
- Netta
- French
- Antoinette
Sibling names for Nettie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nettie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nettie
What does the name Nettie mean?
Nothing of its own. It is a French diminutive ending used as a name.
Which names is it short for?
Antoinette, Jeanette, Annette and Henriette all end in it.
Did other names form this way?
Yes — Etta from Henrietta and Nita from Juanita by the same route.
Is Nettie coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, though from a very low base.
How popular is the name Nettie?
In 2025, Nettie was given to 22 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Is Nettie a girl's or a boy's name?
Nettie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Nettie?
Nettie has 2 syllables.
When was Nettie most popular?
Nettie peaked in 1918, when 1,172 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
Is Nettie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nettie currently ranks #5,283 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s 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.