Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2016

Lady

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #6,029 Trend ↓ Falling 25%

Used as a courtesy title with the woman’s given name, for a daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.

Rank 2025
#6,029
among girls · ↑511 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
20
named Lady
How common
1 in 80,363
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2016
48 babies
All-time total
2,068
#4,608 all-time among girls
First recorded
1884
in Social Security records

Lady popularity over time

2,068 babies have been named Lady since 1884, 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
0.030.050.080.118801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1900Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s 26 3 – #742
1890s 86 9 +231% #989
1900s 152 15 +77% #737
1910s 221 22 +45% #1,106
1920s 248 25 +12% #1,490
1930s 173 17 -30% #1,517
1940s 118 12 -32% #2,063
1950s 96 10 -19% #2,839
1960s 98 10 +2% #3,644
1970s 102 10 +4% #3,864
1980s 92 9 -10% #5,371
1990s 132 13 +43% #5,807
2000s 170 17 +29% #5,305
2010s 235 24 +38% #3,357
2020s (to 2025) 119 20 -16% #5,737

Where Lady 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 19 0.01 outside top 500
2027 18 0.01 outside top 500
2028 18 0.01 outside top 500
2029 17 0.01 outside top 500
2030 17 0.01 outside top 500

The story of Lady

Lady is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #6,029 in 2025 with 20 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1884, 2,068 American babies have been named Lady. Its peak came in 2016, when 48 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Lady stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lady?

The median living Lady is about 29 years old; half are between 12 and 58. An estimated 1,100 people named Lady are alive in the United States today.

median 29 020406080100

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

Lady year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 20 #6,029
2024 18 #6,540
2023 21 #5,866
2022 22 #5,737
2021 17 #6,861
2020 21 #5,761
2019 28 #4,845
2018 30 #4,625
2017 24 #5,458
2016 48 #3,357
2015 11 #9,854
2014 16 #7,503
2013 21 #6,145
2012 16 #7,647
2011 16 #7,635
2010 25 #5,522
2009 17 #7,538
2008 14 #8,768
2007 20 #6,706
2006 20 #6,495
2005 19 #6,419
2004 24 #5,305
2003 17 #6,760
2002 12 #8,577
2001 10 #9,769
2000 17 #6,359
1995 12 #7,306
1990 11 #7,605
1985 12 #5,850
1980 9 #7,088
1975 9 #6,195
1970 5 #8,656
1965 13 #3,644
1960 12 #3,810
1955 7 #4,963
1950 14 #2,839
1945 8 #3,528
1940 16 #2,063
1935 18 #1,880
1930 10 #2,954
1925 25 #1,721
1920 30 #1,490
1915 26 #1,425
1910 14 #1,242
1905 14 #1,038
1900 25 #737
1895 9 #1,164
1890 6 #1,276
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Lady

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

  1. 1 Lady Gaga Lady Gaga American singer, songwriter and actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey Disputed Queen of England and Ireland in 1553 1537–1554 · 16th century
  3. 3 Lady Sarah Chatto British royal family member (born 1964) Contemporary
  4. 4 Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort English noblewoman and politician (1443–1509) Medieval
  5. 5 Lady Godiva Lady Godiva 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and figure of legend 990–1067 · Medieval
  6. 6 Lady Bird Johnson Lady Bird Johnson First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 1912–2007 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Lady Louise Windsor Lady Louise Windsor Member of the British royal family (born 2003) Contemporary
  8. 8 Lady Randolph Churchill Lady Randolph Churchill American-born British socialite (1854–1921) 19th century
  9. 9 Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb English novelist and aristocrat (1785–1828) 18th century
  10. 10 Lady Katherine Grey Lady Katherine Grey English noblewoman (1540–1568) 16th century
  11. 11 Lady Sovereign Lady Sovereign British rapper (born 1985) Contemporary
  12. 12 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu English writer and poet (1689–1762) 17th century
  13. 13 Lady Byron Lady Byron English educational reformer and philanthropist (1792–1860) 18th century
  14. 14 Lady Triệu Lady Triệu 3rd-century Vietnamese warrior 225–248 · Antiquity
  15. 15 Lady Sun Lady Sun 3rd-century Chinese noble lady b. 192 · Antiquity
  16. 16 Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Stanhope British aristocrat, antiquarian and archaeologist (1776–1839) 18th century
  17. 17 Lady Zhen Lady Zhen Wife of Cao Pi, ruler of Cao Wei (183–221) Antiquity
  18. 18 Lady Charlotte Guest Lady Charlotte Guest English aristocrat (1812–1895) 19th century
  19. 19 Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton Princess of Monaco (1850–1922) 19th century
  20. 20 Lady Ise Lady Ise Japanese poet 875–938 · Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Lady?

The median living Lady is about 29 years old. Half of all living Ladys are between 12 and 58 years old.

How many people named Lady are alive today?

An estimated 1,100 people named Lady are alive in the United States, based on 2,068 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lady mean?

Used as a courtesy title with the woman’s given name, for a daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.

How popular is the name Lady in 2025?

Lady ranked #6,029 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 20 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lady?

2,068 babies have been named Lady in the United States since 1884, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lady most popular?

Lady peaked in 2016, when 48 newborns received the name.

Is Lady a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Lady rising or falling?

Lady is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Lady become more popular?

Lady is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 17 girls named Lady 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 Lady?

Well-known people named Lady include Lady Gaga (musician), Lady Jane Grey (nobleman), Lady Sarah Chatto (painter).

Names like Lady

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

Compare Lady with similar names → More names starting with L →