Nancy

English diminutive of Ann or Agnes, Hebrew; Greek

"grace; pure"

Nancy Origin and Meaning

The name Nancy is a girl's name of Hebrew, French origin meaning "grace; pure".

To some, Nancy is a sweet, sparkly, vintage choice with plenty of energy and style. For it strays too much into '"old-lady" territory to be cool again yet. It's out of fashion in France, New Zealand, and Canada; it lingers towards to bottom of the US charts. In the UK however, Nancy has been a Top 100 name for nearly a decade where it fits right in with Evie, Mabel, and Pippa.

Nancy originated as a contraction of "mine Ancy", with Ancy being a nickname for name Annis, a Medieval English variant of Agnes. Later, in the 18th century, it began to be used as a nickname for Ann too, but also as a name within its own right. This could give it the possibly meanings of "my pure and holy one" or "my grace".

It is also a French place name, though in this case, the name is likely derived from Nanciao, a Ghaulish personal name, which came from nanto, meaning "river or valley" in Proto-Celtic.

As a name in its own right, it has always been in the US Top 1000, peaking between 1931 and 1962 when it remained in the Top 20. In 1940 alone, Nancy was given to about 20,000 baby girls. In recent years, however it has been on a downward trend, and as of 2023, it was given to 280 girls, holding on to just a small fraction of the sway in held in the mid-century.

Today, it might feel like a distinctly British choice then, nickname-y and old-fashioned, but pleasing to say and easy to spell. It also has a couple of interesting variations itself, such as Nan, Nance, Nanette, Nanny, Nansi, and Nanou.

Nancy is a major character in Oliver Twist and is fondly remembered by some as Nancy Drew, girl detective, while contemporary kids are enjoying the Fancy Nancy series. Frank Sinatra paid tribute to his daughter with the song "Nancy with the Laughing Face." Nancy also has political ties, via the mother of Abraham Lincoln, the wife of Ronald Reagan (born Anne), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Nancy Rank in US Top 1000

# 942 in the US

Nancy Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 415 on Nameberry

Nancy Popularity

• 942 US 2023
• 415 Nameberry 2024
• 70 England 2023
• 325 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Nancy

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Nancy.

• Susan
• Nellie
• Joan
• Betsy
• Martha
• Peggy
• Marilyn
• Maggie
• Patricia
• Polly
• Dolly
• Albie
• Thelma
• Rachel
• Dottie
• Tally
• Jesse
• Bonnie
• Brenda
• Wendy

Famous People Named Nancy

• Nancy Hanks Lincoln mother of Abraham Lincoln
• Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins) U.S. First Lady as wife of President Ronald Reagan
• Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi former U.S. Speaker of the House
• Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson American lead singer of band Heart
• Nancy Sandra Sinatra American singer; daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra
• Nancy Jean Cartwright American voice actress
• Nancy Ann Kerrigan American Olympic figure skating champ
• Nancy Nabil Ajram Lebanese pop singer
• Nancy Ann Grace American legal commentator and prosecutor
• Nancy Mitford English novelist
• Nancy Justine McKeon American actress
• Nancy Wake New Zealand agent in World War II
• Nancy Laura Spungen girlfriend of the Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious
• Anna Selina "Nancy" Storace English soprano
• Nancy Jane Kulp American character actress
• Nancy Ann Travis American actress
• Nancy Cameron daughter of British Prime Minister, David Cameron
• Nancy Leigh "Naleigh" Kelly (adopted 2009) daughter of American actress Katherine Heigl
• Nancy Jewel McDonie American, Korean singer of girl group Momoland
• Nancy "Ka Shen" Kwan Chinese,American actress

Nancy in Pop Culture

• Nancy Botwin main character on TV's "Weeds"
• Nancy Drew mystery series created by Carolyn Keene and its main character
• Nancy character in Dickens' "Oliver Twist"
• Nancy character in Archie & Friends comics
• Nancy Callahan character in novel/film "Sin City"
• Nancy character on "Kimberly"
• Nancy Nichols character on TV's "Doc"
• Nancy Bobofit character in the 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' series
• Nancy Ingeldew character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Nancy Downs character in movie "The Craft"
• Nancy Landgraab character in "The Sims" (3&4) computer games
• Nancy Wheeler character on TV's "Stranger Things"
• Nancy Weston character on TV's "Thirtysomething"
• Miss Nancy main character in novelette "The Sitter's Hand" by author Tina Tirrell
• "Nancy Mulligan " song by Ed Sheeran
• "Fancy Nancy " children's book and TV series
• "For the Love of Nancy " 1994 made,for,TV movie
• "Sid and Nancy " 1986 British biopic about Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen
• Nancy Blackett main character in the "Swallows and Amazons" series
• Nancy comic strip character
• Nancy Shawcross character in "A God in Ruins" by Kate Atkinson
• Nancy Goldfinch character in the webcomic "Riverside Extras" by Miri Chamberlain
• Nancy Landgraab character in the Sims franchise