Holding steady.
Popularity of Fairy since 1882
Babies named Fairy per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1917, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Fairy's real moment was 1905.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 61 |
| 1890s | 160 |
| 1900s | 234 |
| 1910s | 488 |
| 1920s | 597 |
| 1930s | 391 |
| 1940s | 220 |
| 1950s | 140 |
| 1960s | 50 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 41 |
| 2020s | 10 |
Meaning & origin
Fairy is an exceptionally rare English given name, first recorded in the United States in 1882. It reached its modest peak in 1905, yet never entered the top 1000 rankings in any year. The name reflects a brief Victorian fascination with fanciful and nature-inspired names, but it has remained on the periphery, with no state ever recording significant usage. In the most recent complete data from 2023, fewer than five newborn girls received the name. Its trajectory has been stable at an extremely low frequency, making it a truly unique choice. The name carries no cultural or religious weight, standing purely as a word-name drawn from folklore.
Fairy derives from the Old French 'faerie', meaning 'enchantment' or 'land of the fays', ultimately from Latin 'fatum' (fate). The word was adopted into English in the medieval period, referring to supernatural beings. As a given name, Fairy appears in the late 19th century as a rare fanciful appellation, mirroring the Victorian taste for virtue and nature names, but it never achieved widespread use.
Sibling names for Fairy
Names that share Fairy's style, for a brother or sister.
