Legacy
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Meaning
word name meaning 'something handed down', from Latin legare, to bequeath
The story
Legacy is a word before it is a name, from the Latin legare, to bequeath or hand down. A legacy is what one generation leaves the next, whether an inheritance, a reputation, or simply a way of doing things, and as a given name it turns that idea into a small daily blessing and a large hope. It belongs to a modern American family of aspirational word names, alongside Genesis, Justice, Legend and Royalty, chosen by parents who want the meaning to sit right there on the surface. It works for girls and boys and leans gently feminine in use. Brand new as a first name, Legacy has climbed fast and reads as current now as it has ever been. It is unapologetically hopeful, a name that asks a child to carry something forward and tells them, from the very first day, that they already matter to the story.
How popular is Legacy around the world?
In the United States, 5,290 babies were named Legacy between 2020 and 2025.
Legacy is on the official records of the United States and Canada.
United States
1 in 4,100
In the United States, 5,290 babies were named Legacy between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Legacy peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Legacy went to 429 girls and 244 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 37,000
In Canada, 5 girls named Legacy were born in 2024, ranked 3,457th among girls that year.
In Canada, 5 boys named Legacy were born in 2024, ranked 3,231st 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)
England and Wales
last on record 2023
Legacy is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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
last on record 2022
Legacy is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland 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 Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Legacy
Most people given the name Legacy 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
Names like Legacy · Gender-neutral names · Truly unisex names
The Legacy deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Legacy 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 Legacy fits with your family’s names and surname.
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