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Whitney

girl name
Origin
English
Syllables
2
Peak era
1990s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Whitney and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

traditionally 'white island', from an English place name/surname

Famously borne by Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble.

The story

Whitney started life as an English surname meaning white island, one of the crisp place-and-surname names Americans have long converted into first names. For girls it took off in the later twentieth century, already on the rise by the time a young, gospel-trained singer from Newark carried it onto the world stage. Whitney Houston released her debut album in 1985, ran off seven consecutive number one hits, and with The Bodyguard and its towering version of I Will Always Love You became one of the most celebrated voices ever recorded, making the name feel glamorous, powerful and utterly of its moment. That is also the honest shape of the chart: Whitney's great vogue filled the closing decades of the twentieth century and has receded steadily since, the signature of a name bound tightly to its era, and to a singer nobody has matched.

More names with stories →

How popular is Whitney around the world?

In the United States, 1,592 babies were named Whitney between 2020 and 2025.

Whitney is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Chile, France, Brazil and Spain.

United States

1 in 14,000

In the United States, 1,592 babies were named Whitney between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1990s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Whitney peaked in the 1990s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Canada

1 in 17,000

In Canada, 22 girls named Whitney were born in 2024, ranked 1,151st among girls that year.

peak 19932024

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)

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England and Wales

1 in 73,000

In England and Wales, 8 girls named Whitney were born in 2025, ranked 3,035th among girls that year.

peak 19972025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Chile

1 in 89,000

In Chile, 2 girls were registered as Whitney in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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France

1 in 130,000

In France, about 5 girls named Whitney were born in 2025, ranked 7,023rd among girls that year.

1980peak 19932025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Brazil

1 in 330,000

At the 2022 census, 511 people in Brazil were named Whitney, ranked 13,166th, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Whitney living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.

1990speak 2000s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 49 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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

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Spain

1 in 1.7M

In Spain, 27 residents are named Whitney, ranked 24,499th among women, with a mean age of 23.6 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

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Argentina

last on record 2023

Whitney is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
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

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Austria

last on record 2023

Whitney is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 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)

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Ireland

last on record 2015

Whitney is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

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

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Mexico City City

last on record 2021

Whitney is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 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

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Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Whitney 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 2 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

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New Zealand

last on record 1997

Whitney is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19872025

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

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Scotland

last on record 1999

Whitney is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 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

See the full list for Scotland →

South Australia

last on record 2015

Whitney is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

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

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Whitney

Most people given the name Whitney in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Whitney you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Whitney

Carrington Kelsey Shelby Brooklyn Beverly Anniston

Keep exploring

Names of founders and builders · Names of music legends

The Whitney deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Whitney 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 Whitney fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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