# Holly (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/holly/  
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 | English |
| Meaning | “holly”, “wood”, “clearing”, “meadow” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Hollie, Hollee, Holli, Hollye, Holley |
| US babies named this | 206,845 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,541 / 205,304 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 52,588, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan. * As an English surname, variant of Holley. * As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy. * Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood. * Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday. * Also as an English surname, after the holly tree. * As a feminine given name popularized by Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (especially the 1961 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn).

## What it means

Holly is grouped under forest.

## 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 | 738 | 420 |
| 2012 | 740 | 425 |
| 2013 | 683 | 451 |
| 2014 | 714 | 448 |
| 2015 | 653 | 491 |
| 2016 | 589 | 527 |
| 2017 | 634 | 493 |
| 2018 | 608 | 513 |
| 2019 | 651 | 483 |
| 2020 | 639 | 479 |
| 2021 | 673 | 465 |
| 2022 | 693 | 457 |
| 2023 | 682 | 453 |
| 2024 | 745 | 420 |
| 2025 | 751 | 416 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 27 | 1,976 |
| 1984 | 17 | 2,743 |
| 1985 | 25 | 2,191 |
| 1986 | 29 | 2,026 |
| 1987 | 17 | 2,999 |
| 1988 | 18 | 3,012 |
| 1989 | 19 | 3,138 |
| 1990 | 5 | 8,631 |
| 1991 | 7 | 6,811 |
| 1992 | 8 | 6,345 |
| 1993 | 5 | 9,271 |
| 1994 | 8 | 6,608 |
| 1997 | 5 | 9,832 |
| 1998 | 5 | 10,214 |
| 2004 | 8 | 8,417 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,971 | 26 |
| 2012 | 1,937 | 25 |
| 2013 | 1,546 | 33 |
| 2014 | 1,362 | 39 |
| 2015 | 1,248 | 44 |
| 2016 | 1,098 | 52 |
| 2017 | 1,003 | 56 |
| 2018 | 957 | 56 |
| 2019 | 772 | 72 |
| 2020 | 646 | 81 |
| 2021 | 568 | 95 |
| 2022 | 463 | 108 |
| 2023 | 370 | 135 |
| 2024 | 367 | 137 |
| 2025 | 285 | 169 |

## People named Holly

- Arthur Holly Compton, American physicist (1892–1962)
- Holly Hunter, American actress (born 1958)
- Holly Marie Combs, American actress
- Holly Madison, American television personality
- Holly Valance, Australian actress and singer
- Holly Black, American children's fiction writer
- Holly Holm, American boxer and mixed martial artist (born 1981)
- Holly Bradshaw, British pole vaulter
- Holly Sampson, American actress and pornographic performer
- Holly Robinson Peete, American actress and singer
- Holly Randall, American photographer and podcaster
- Holly Taylor, Canadian actress

## 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.