Ivy: meaning and UK use

What does Ivy mean?

Ivy is the English climbing-plant word used as a name. The reference traces the word to Old English ifig.

Language or name family covered

English plant name

Meaning or derivation

The ivy plant

Our browsing group

girl; vintage, nature

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Ivy

Pronunciation and related forms

EYE-vee (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

No variants or nicknames have been verified for this entry. A family nickname does not need to be an established dictionary form.

How popular is Ivy?

In 2025, 1,698 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Ivy, making it the 9th most popular girls’ name. That is down 4 places on 2024, when it ranked 5th. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 42nd, so it has climbed 33 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2024, at 5th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

9th

2025 registrations

1,698

Best rank in this series

5th (2024)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Ivy: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	9	1,698
2024	5	1,956
2023	7	1,997
2022	6	2,195
2021	5	2,245
2020	6	2,166
2019	12	2,158
2018	14	2,104
2017	25	1,819
2016	33	1,509
2015	42	1,275
2014	54	1,103
2013	66	867
2012	88	633
2011	168	310
2010	227	220
2009	281	170
2008	322	141
2007	390	106
2006	497	76
2005	494	71
2004	758	37
2003	799	33
2002	998	22
2001	962	22
2000	1033	20
1999	1216	16
1998	2165	7
1997	1666	10
1996	1222	15

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 25,001. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Ivy in 2025: Ivy-Rose: 185 (girls); Ivy-Mae: 84 (girls); Ivy-Rae: 38 (girls); Ivy-May: 33 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Ivy

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Daisyvintage, nature · The daisy flower
• Hazelvintage, nature · The hazel tree or hazel colour
• Irisvintage, nature · Rainbow
• Rosievintage, nature · A short form of Rose
• Adavintage · From an element meaning noble
• Beatricevintage · A form of Beatrix

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Ivy, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.