Pollyanna
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- pol-ee-AN-a
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,076 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #6,115 for girls
Pollyanna is a girls' name of English origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,076th for girls in the UK (14 babies) and 6,115th for girls in the US (19 babies).
What does Pollyanna mean?
English: combination of Polly and Anna
Made famous by Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel Pollyanna, whose heroine always plays the glad game of finding something to be glad about.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Pollyanna a girl's or a boy's name?
Pollyanna is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 14 girls in the UK and 19 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Pollyanna in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,076th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 14 about 1 in 20,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 14 girls in the UK were named Pollyanna, making it the 2,076th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,780th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 47 girls.
Half of all the girls named Pollyanna in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,006th in England and Wales.
Pollyanna in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #2,076 |
| 2024 | 16 | #1,881 |
| 2023 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2022 | 11 | #2,450 |
| 2021 | 19 | #1,669 |
| 2020 | 17 | #1,780 |
| 2019 | 17 | #1,793 |
| 2018 | 22 | #1,524 |
| 2017 | 24 | #1,455 |
| 2016 | 29 | #1,243 |
| 2015 | 24 | #1,431 |
| 2014 | 33 | #1,131 |
| 2013 | 39 | #1,007 |
| 2012 | 47 | #866 |
| 2011 | 40 | #950 |
| 2010 | 21 | #1,527 |
| 2009 | 18 | #1,621 |
| 2008 | 17 | #1,679 |
| 2007 | 15 | #1,784 |
| 2006 | 18 | #1,481 |
| 2005 | 24 | #1,128 |
| 2004 | 20 | #1,238 |
| 2003 | 14 | #1,564 |
| 2002 | 17 | #1,280 |
| 2001 | 17 | #1,261 |
| 2000 | 9 | #1,942 |
| 1999 | 20 | #1,103 |
| 1998 | 26 | #922 |
| 1997 | 20 | #1,087 |
| 1996 | 22 | #988 |
How popular is Pollyanna in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,115th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 19 about 1 in 85,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 19 girls in the US were named Pollyanna, making it the 6,115th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11,085th. Its busiest year was 1964, with 53 girls. It first appears in the records in 1914.
2025 had more girls named Pollyanna than any year since 1975.
Half of all the girls named Pollyanna in the US since 1880 were born between 1937 and 1981, the years shaded on the chart below.
Pollyanna in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | #6,115 |
| 2024 | 13 | #7,962 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,307 |
| 2022 | 9 | #10,377 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,557 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,085 |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,350 |
| 2018 | 8 | #11,422 |
| 2017 | 8 | #11,611 |
| 2016 | 8 | #11,776 |
| 2015 | 12 | #8,926 |
| 2014 | 9 | #10,949 |
| 2013 | 9 | #10,995 |
| 2012 | 5 | #16,863 |
| 2011 | 10 | #10,370 |
| 2010 | 7 | #13,442 |
| 2009 | 6 | #15,236 |
| 2008 | 11 | #10,080 |
| 2007 | 7 | #13,918 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 6 | #13,837 |
| 2002 | 5 | #15,426 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 6 | #13,147 |
| 1999 | 9 | #9,472 |
| 1998 | 7 | #11,132 |
| 1997 | 6 | #12,065 |
| 1996 | 10 | #8,127 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 9 | #8,798 |
| 1993 | 7 | #10,581 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,495 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 6 | #10,381 |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,320 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,139 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 13 | #5,207 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,126 |
| 1980 | 9 | #6,788 |
| 1979 | 14 | #4,841 |
| 1978 | 9 | #6,384 |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,338 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,811 |
| 1975 | 27 | #2,743 |
| 1974 | 15 | #4,040 |
| 1973 | 21 | #3,121 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,714 |
| 1971 | 20 | #3,266 |
| 1970 | 23 | #2,938 |
| 1969 | 23 | #2,768 |
| 1968 | 27 | #2,360 |
| 1967 | 12 | #3,844 |
| 1966 | 30 | #2,146 |
| 1965 | 25 | #2,410 |
| 1964 | 53 | #1,559 |
| 1963 | 30 | #2,171 |
| 1962 | 20 | #2,740 |
| 1961 | 43 | #1,741 |
| 1960 | 21 | #2,648 |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 6 | #5,407 |
| 1957 | 9 | #4,201 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 5 | #5,672 |
| 1952 | 5 | #5,561 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 7 | #4,234 |
| 1948 | 5 | #5,241 |
| 1947 | 6 | #4,762 |
| 1946 | 5 | #4,958 |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 9 | #3,138 |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 5 | #4,620 |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,418 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,736 |
| 1939 | 10 | #2,734 |
| 1938 | 8 | #3,179 |
| 1937 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 5 | #4,202 |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,687 |
| 1932 | 6 | #3,899 |
| 1931 | 8 | #3,224 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,656 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,436 |
| 1928 | 15 | #2,283 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,282 |
| 1926 | 20 | #1,931 |
| 1925 | 10 | #3,115 |
| 1924 | 16 | #2,307 |
| 1923 | 14 | #2,465 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,611 |
| 1921 | 20 | #1,988 |
| 1920 | 25 | #1,666 |
| 1919 | 15 | #2,264 |
| 1918 | 13 | #2,518 |
| 1917 | 21 | #1,708 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,739 |
| 1915 | 12 | #2,383 |
| 1914 | 6 | #3,187 |
Nicknames for Pollyanna
- Polly 254 girls in the UK in 2025
Names like Pollyanna
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Amelia, Evelyn, Violet, Isabella, Eva, Ruby, Eliza, Matilda, Ada, Aurora, Frankie, Theodora
More English names
Lily, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Hallie, Hazel, Carter, Harrison
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Pollyanna: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/pollyanna, updated 20 October 2026.