Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1998

Ally

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,118 Trend ↓ Falling 38%

A diminutive of the female given names Alice, Alison, Alexandra, and other names beginning with Al-[[]], from the Germanic languages or Ancient Greek.

Rank 2025
#2,118
among girls · ↓246 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
88
named Ally · -23% vs 2024
How common
1 in 18,264
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1998
636 babies
All-time total
10,247
#1,643 all-time among girls
First recorded
1985
in Social Security records

Ally popularity over time

10,247 babies have been named Ally since 1985, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s – – – – – –
1980s 178 – 178 18 – #2,195
1990s 1,812 5 1,817 182 +921% #417
2000s 4,144 5 4,149 415 +128% #582
2010s 3,347 – 3,347 335 -19% #584
2020s (to 2025) 749 7 756 126 -62% #1,373

Where Ally is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 81 0.05 outside top 500
2027 76 0.05 outside top 500
2028 71 0.04 outside top 500
2029 68 0.04 outside top 500
2030 65 0.04 outside top 500

Where Ally is most popular

Girls named Ally per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.073 per 1,000. Strongest in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ally born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Tennessee 18 0.114 +56%
Mississippi 5 0.107 +47%
Texas 81 0.101 +38%
Georgia 19 0.084 +15%
California 69 0.082 +13%
Michigan 14 0.077 +6%
Oregon 5 0.077 +5%
Florida 31 0.072 ≈ national
Kentucky 6 0.070 ≈ national
Alabama 6 0.064 -12%
Utah 5 0.060 -18%
North Carolina 12 0.053 -28%
Pennsylvania 11 0.047 -36%
Missouri 5 0.041 -43%
Massachusetts 5 0.041 -43%
New Jersey 6 0.033 -54%
New York 11 0.028 -62%
Illinois 5 0.022 -70%
Ohio 5 0.021 -71%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ally

Ally is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,118 in 2025 with 88 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1985, 10,247 American babies have been named Ally. Its peak came in 1998, when 636 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ally stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ally?

The median living Ally is about 18 years old; half are between 12 and 24. An estimated 10 thousand people named Ally are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ally year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 88 #2,118 – –
2024 107 #1,872 7 #9,950
2023 117 #1,750 – –
2022 131 #1,613 – –
2021 148 #1,450 – –
2020 158 #1,373 – –
2019 177 #1,295 – –
2018 184 #1,255 – –
2017 215 #1,152 – –
2016 272 #984 – –
2015 319 #872 – –
2014 381 #737 – –
2013 463 #606 – –
2012 499 #584 – –
2011 419 #674 – –
2010 418 #686 – –
2009 349 #810 – –
2008 383 #767 – –
2007 419 #697 5 #12,445
2006 456 #630 – –
2005 425 #652 – –
2004 473 #594 – –
2003 394 #670 – –
2002 444 #582 – –
2001 383 #657 – –
2000 418 #605 – –
1995 73 #1,900 – –
1990 62 #2,101 – –
1985 13 #5,360 – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ally

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ally Sheedy Ally Sheedy American actress (born 1962) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ally McCoist Ally McCoist Scottish footballer (born 1962) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ally Walker American actress b. 1961 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Ally Brooke Ally Brooke American singer (born 1993) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ally, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ally?

The median living Ally is about 18 years old. Half of all living Allys are between 12 and 24 years old.

How many people named Ally are alive today?

An estimated 10 thousand people named Ally are alive in the United States, based on 10,247 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ally mean?

A diminutive of the female given names Alice, Alison, Alexandra, and other names beginning with Al-[[]], from the Germanic languages or Ancient Greek.

How popular is the name Ally in 2025?

Ally ranked #2,118 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 88 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ally?

10,247 babies have been named Ally in the United States since 1985, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ally most popular?

Ally peaked in 1998, when 636 newborns received the name.

Is Ally a boy or girl name?

Ally is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ally rising or falling?

Ally is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ally become more popular?

Ally is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 65 girls named Ally in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ally?

Well-known people named Ally include Ally Sheedy (actor), Ally McCoist (soccer player), Ally Walker (actor).

Names like Ally

Names that sound and feel close to Ally: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ally with similar names → More names starting with A →