Holly
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Meaning
the holly tree, a symbol of Christmas (nature name); immortalized by Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
The story
Holly is an evergreen before it is a person. Its glossy leaves and red berries stay vivid through winter, which helped make the plant part of Christmas decoration and symbolism. The name carries that seasonal brightness without being limited to December. Literature and film added a very different Holly: Holly Golightly, created by Truman Capote in his 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film. Hepburn's black dress and sunglasses became iconic, but the character beneath the image is restless, invented, and lonelier than the glamour suggests. That complexity makes her more interesting than a simple style reference. Holly therefore holds two kinds of survival: an evergreen plant keeping its color in winter and a fictional woman continually reinventing herself in New York. Holls can work casually, though the full name is already friendly. It sounds cheerful at first hearing, then rewards a closer look with sharp leaves, hidden vulnerability, and a cultural life far richer than holiday decoration.
How popular is Holly around the world?
In the United States, 4,183 babies were named Holly between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 77 girls named Holly were born in 2025, the 69th most common name among girls that year.
Holly is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, South Australia, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, Austria, Mexico City, Poland, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,200
In the United States, 4,183 babies were named Holly between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Holly peaked in the 1970s and the 1980s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 700
In Ireland, 77 girls named Holly were born in 2025, the 69th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 880
In Scotland, 52 girls named Holly were registered in 2024, the 79th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 1,1002017
In South Australia, 16 girls were registered as Holly in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 2,100
In England and Wales, 285 girls named Holly were born in 2025, the 169th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 2,400
In New Zealand, 24 girls named Holly were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 4,300
In Canada, 86 girls named Holly were born in 2024, the 345th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 girls named Holly were born in 2025, ranked 1,026th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Holly in 2022.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Poland
1 in 62,000
In Poland, 4 girls named Holly were born in 2025, the 498th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 170,000
In Argentina, 4 newborns were given the name Holly in 2024.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 560,000
In Spain, 80 residents are named Holly, ranked 9,314th among women, with a mean age of 25.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 47 people in Brazil were named Holly, ranked 69,533rd, with a median age of 15.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1995
Holly is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Holly is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Holly
People given the name Holly in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Holly deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Holly truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Holly fits with your family’s names and surname.
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