How Many People Are Named Holly?
An estimated 182,620 people in the United States have the first name Holly. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #302 overall. It is predominantly female (99.3%). The average bearer is 45 years old, and Holly peaked in popularity in 1983 with 6,415 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Holly as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Holly paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Holly is overwhelmingly female, 1,541 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
182,620
About 1 in 1,877 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.3% confidence
Average Age
45
years old
Peak Year
1983
6,415 births
Total Registered
206,089
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Holly
Holly is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 206,089 total births registered, 99.3% were female.
Holly as a male name
Ranked #8,417 in 2004
8 male births in 2004
Peak: 1918 (32 births)
Holly as a female name
Ranked #419 in 2024
739 female births in 2024
Peak: 1983 (6,388 births)
Holly: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Holly span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 50,656 babies were registered. Holly has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Holly by Decade
How has Holly tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 19 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 50 | 20 | 30 | |
| 1900s | 61 | 26 | 35 | |
| 1910s | 286 | 153 | 133 | |
| 1920s | 413 | 214 | 199 | |
| 1930s | 566 | 151 | 415 | |
| 1940s | 4,124 | 162 | 3,962 | |
| 1950s | 18,812 | 178 | 18,634 | |
| 1960s | 32,297 | 153 | 32,144 | |
| 1970s | 50,656 | 192 | 50,464 | |
| 1980s | 49,878 | 222 | 49,656 | |
| 1990s | 27,115 | 43 | 27,072 | |
| 2000s | 11,605 | 8 | 11,597 | |
| 2010s | 6,784 | 0 | 6,784 | |
| 2020s | 3,423 | 0 | 3,423 | |
Holly by State
Birth registrations for Holly span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Ohio, Texas. The lowest are in Hawaii, Wyoming, District of Columbia. On average, about 3,971 Hollys were registered per state.
Holly + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Holly as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Holly
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Holly: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Holly?
We estimate approximately 182,620 people named Holly are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,877 Americans share this first name.
Is Holly a common name?
Holly is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 206,089 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Holly most popular?
Holly reached peak popularity in 1983, when 6,415 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Holly is approximately 45 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Holly a female name?
Holly is predominantly female. 99.3% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Holly Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Holly Smith, Holly Johnson, Holly Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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