# Heather (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/heather/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛðɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 527,387 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,477 / 525,910 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,543, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 391 | 711 |
| 2012 | 330 | 812 |
| 2013 | 316 | 835 |
| 2014 | 331 | 837 |
| 2015 | 281 | 965 |
| 2016 | 275 | 977 |
| 2017 | 223 | 1,126 |
| 2018 | 211 | 1,152 |
| 2019 | 162 | 1,387 |
| 2020 | 151 | 1,443 |
| 2021 | 173 | 1,307 |
| 2022 | 181 | 1,304 |
| 2023 | 171 | 1,326 |
| 2024 | 170 | 1,345 |
| 2025 | 177 | 1,264 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 65 | 1,178 |
| 1987 | 62 | 1,241 |
| 1988 | 58 | 1,362 |
| 1989 | 59 | 1,427 |
| 1990 | 24 | 2,730 |
| 1991 | 25 | 2,705 |
| 1992 | 16 | 3,816 |
| 1993 | 17 | 3,720 |
| 1994 | 7 | 7,252 |
| 1995 | 15 | 4,128 |
| 1996 | 9 | 6,176 |
| 1997 | 5 | 9,812 |
| 1998 | 7 | 7,887 |
| 1999 | 6 | 9,126 |
| 2007 | 5 | 13,045 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 55 | 702 |
| 2012 | 47 | 812 |
| 2013 | 37 | 982 |
| 2014 | 56 | 699 |
| 2015 | 56 | 708 |
| 2016 | 51 | 768 |
| 2017 | 43 | 889 |
| 2018 | 38 | 952 |
| 2019 | 31 | 1,095 |
| 2020 | 37 | 941 |
| 2021 | 36 | 957 |
| 2022 | 46 | 785 |
| 2023 | 35 | 981 |
| 2024 | 45 | 826 |
| 2025 | 46 | 792 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: هِيذِر
- Bulgarian: Хедър
- Chinese: 希瑟
- Esperanto: Ĥizer
- Japanese: ヘザー
- Korean: 헤더
- Russian: Хи́зер
- Ukrainian: Хі́зер
- Welsh: Grug

## People named Heather

- Heather Graham, American actress
- Heather Locklear, American actress (born 1961)
- Heather Morris, American actress, dancer, singer, and model
- Heather O'Rourke, American actress (1975–1988)
- Heather Langenkamp, American actress
- Heather Watson, British female tennis player
- Heather Mills, former glamour model, activist
- Heather Matarazzo, American actress
- Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
- Heather Menzies, Canadian actress (1949-2017)
- Heather Nauert, American broadcast journalist and former government official
- Heather Mitts, American soccer player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.