| Amy | Nancy | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beloved | grace, favour |
| Origin | french | english |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AY-mee | NAN-see |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1975 (32,254) | 1947 (32,445) |
| In 2025 | 1,200 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amy | Nancy |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,362 | 1,677 |
| 2010s | 19,765 | 3,928 |
| 2000s | 28,760 | 10,959 |
| 1990s | 51,167 | 19,495 |
| 1980s | 150,662 | 25,493 |
| 1970s | 268,994 | 41,850 |
| 1960s | 116,775 | 142,724 |
| 1950s | 30,583 | 286,812 |
| 1940s | 5,328 | 252,061 |
| 1930s | 3,402 | 142,488 |
| 1920s | 5,264 | 43,807 |
| 1910s | 4,824 | 17,283 |
| 1900s | 2,576 | 5,733 |
| 1890s | 3,042 | 5,346 |
| 1880s | 2,127 | 4,792 |
From the Old French Amee (modern Aimee), the past participle of amer 'to love', ultimately from Latin amata 'beloved'. A clear reflex of the Latin root am- 'love'.
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.
Amy is more popular than Nancy today: about 1,200 US babies were given the name Amy in 2025, compared with 0 named Nancy.
Amy means Beloved (french origin), while Nancy means grace, favour (english origin).
In US records, Amy first appears in 1880 and Nancy in 0, so Nancy has the longer recorded history.