Indy
Torn between Indy and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
modern nickname, short for Indiana or India
The story
Indy is usually a short form, but its most famous chain of naming begins with a dog. George Lucas has said that his Alaskan malamute Indiana inspired the name Indiana Jones. On screen, the adventurous archaeologist is often called Indy, while a later film jokes that the character himself took Indiana from the family dog. Fiction folded the creator's real affection back into the hero's biography. Indy can also shorten India or other names beginning with the same sound, so the movie cannot claim every route. That openness suits a nickname built for movement. It feels ready to leave the formal name on the passport and run toward the next scene. No bearer inherits the character's profession, bravery, or talent for escaping traps. The lasting pleasure is smaller: a beloved animal lent a name to an imagined adventurer, the adventurer shortened it, and the short form stepped off the screen as a name in its own right.
How popular is Indy around the world?
In the United States, 2,012 babies were named Indy between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 21 girls named Indy were registered in 2025.
Indy is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Ireland, South Australia, England and Wales, Scotland, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 11,000
In the United States, 2,012 babies were named Indy between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Indy peaked in the 2020s. Indy went to 76 US babies in 2015 and 411 in 2025, 5.4 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 2,700
In New Zealand, 21 girls named Indy 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
Ireland
1 in 4,500
In Ireland, 12 girls named Indy were born in 2025, the 325th 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
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Indy in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Indy 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 7,100
In England and Wales, 64 girls named Indy were born in 2025, the 610th most common name among girls that year.
In England and Wales, 19 boys named Indy were born in 2025, ranked 1,406th among boys 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
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Indy were registered in 2024, the 790th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Canada
1 in 19,000
In Canada, 12 girls named Indy were born in 2024, ranked 1,854th among girls that year.
In Canada, 7 boys named Indy were born in 2024, ranked 2,550th among boys 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)
Argentina
1 in 220,000
In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Indy in 2024.
The count never rose above 3 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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 79 people in Brazil were named Indy, ranked 48,671st, with a median age of 26.
Among people named Indy living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
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 2006
Indy 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Indy
Most people given the name Indy in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Indy deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Indy 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 Indy fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Indy fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Indy to your family’s tree →