How rare is the name Polly?

17,043 people in the United States have the first name Polly, about 1 in 17,722. It ranks #1,768 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

POLLY

#1,768

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
17,043
About
1 in 17,722
This common or more
76.9%
Who bears it

Of the 17,043 people named Polly, 83.7% reported their origin as White, 6.5% as Black and 4.2% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are female (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Polly peaked in 1964, when 688 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1964
Births that year
688
In 2025*
79 ▼89%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 29,708 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Polly by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #517. The largest share of babies named Polly, 33.5%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#517476
1890s#555661
1900s#617753
1910s#7351,924
1920s#6763,332
1930s#5973,875
1940s#6524,301
1950s#7235,068
1960s#7675,030
1970s#1,3211,967
1980s#2,778689
1990s#4,759425
2000s#7,250322
2010s#5,909468
2020s#4,493417
Before 19014.1%
Greatest Generation 1901–2717.3%
Silent Generation 1928–4524.1%
Baby boom 1946–6433.5%
Generation X 1965–8013.5%
Millennials 1981–963.1%
Generation Z 1997–121.8%
2013 and later2.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Polly is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Polly has been most common in Kentucky (3.3×), Mississippi (2.5×), and North Carolina (2.5×), and least common in New Jersey (0.13×).

22,897 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Polly

#1,766 Reuben · 17,061#1,767 Lazaro · 17,054#1,769 Itzel · 17,021#1,770 Kaylin · 17,014

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Polly, most common first.

#38,650 Poly · 198

Also a last name

As a last name, Polly ranks #12,722 of 156,621, with 2,317 people. See Polly as a last name

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