| Addison | Nancy | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Child of Adam | grace, favour |
| Origin | English | english |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AD-uh-sun | NAN-see |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1980 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2007 (11,949) | 1947 (32,445) |
| In 2025 | 2,971 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Addison | Nancy |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 22,797 | 1,677 |
| 2010s | 71,021 | 3,928 |
| 2000s | 51,389 | 10,959 |
| 1990s | 3,468 | 19,495 |
| 1980s | 218 | 25,493 |
| 1970s | 0 | 41,850 |
| 1960s | 0 | 142,724 |
| 1950s | 0 | 286,812 |
| 1940s | 0 | 252,061 |
| 1930s | 0 | 142,488 |
| 1920s | 0 | 43,807 |
| 1910s | 0 | 17,283 |
| 1900s | 0 | 5,733 |
| 1890s | 0 | 5,346 |
| 1880s | 0 | 4,792 |
Addison is an English surname meaning “son of Adam.” Once a boy’s surname, it became a top girls’ name in the 2000s.
Originally a medieval diminutive of Ann (from a misdivision of 'mine Ann' into 'my Nan'), carrying Ann's meaning of grace or favour from Hebrew Hannah. An older alternative traces it to Agnes ('pure'), so the grace meaning is the usual but not sole account.
Addison is more popular than Nancy today: about 2,971 US babies were given the name Addison in 2025, compared with 0 named Nancy.
Addison means Child of Adam (English origin), while Nancy means grace, favour (english origin).
In US records, Addison first appears in 1980 and Nancy in 0, so Nancy has the longer recorded history.