Whitney
- Gender
- Girl
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,101 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,043 for girls
Whitney is a girls' name, meaning “white”. In 2025 it ranked 3,101st for girls in the UK (8 babies) and 1,043rd for girls in the US (238 babies).
What does Whitney mean?
“white”
A female given name transferred from the surname, popular in the 1980s and 1990s due to the fame of Whitney Houston.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Whitney a girl's or a boy's name?
Whitney is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 girls in the UK and 238 girls and 13 boys in the US.
How popular is Whitney in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,101st among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 35,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 31% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 8 girls in the UK were named Whitney, making it the 3,101st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,009th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 106 girls.
Half of all the girls named Whitney in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 3,033rd in England and Wales.
Whitney in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #3,101 |
| 2024 | 8 | #3,076 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 10 | #2,615 |
| 2021 | 8 | #3,082 |
| 2020 | 8 | #3,009 |
| 2019 | 10 | #2,590 |
| 2018 | 11 | #2,464 |
| 2017 | 25 | #1,396 |
| 2016 | 15 | #2,015 |
| 2015 | 22 | #1,527 |
| 2014 | 17 | #1,810 |
| 2013 | 29 | #1,261 |
| 2012 | 31 | #1,179 |
| 2011 | 39 | #977 |
| 2010 | 44 | #872 |
| 2009 | 55 | #722 |
| 2008 | 38 | #929 |
| 2007 | 13 | #1,964 |
| 2006 | 14 | #1,764 |
| 2005 | 17 | #1,451 |
| 2004 | 14 | #1,634 |
| 2003 | 21 | #1,156 |
| 2002 | 16 | #1,333 |
| 2001 | 33 | #800 |
| 2000 | 64 | #503 |
| 1999 | 66 | #495 |
| 1998 | 82 | #425 |
| 1997 | 106 | #359 |
| 1996 | 97 | #380 |
How popular is Whitney in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,043rd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 238 about 1 in 6,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 238 girls in the US were named Whitney, making it the 1,043rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 941st. Its busiest year was 1986, with 9,536 girls. It first appears in the records in 1936. 13 boys were also named Whitney in 2025 (6,442nd for boys).
Half of all the girls named Whitney in the US since 1880 were born between 1986 and 1994, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 1937, 19% of the babies named Whitney in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 95%, with more girls than boys since 1962.
Whitney in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 238 | #1,043 |
| 2024 | 238 | #1,050 |
| 2023 | 262 | #981 |
| 2022 | 245 | #1,043 |
| 2021 | 246 | #1,029 |
| 2020 | 273 | #941 |
| 2019 | 303 | #888 |
| 2018 | 299 | #899 |
| 2017 | 328 | #829 |
| 2016 | 375 | #760 |
| 2015 | 446 | #638 |
| 2014 | 463 | #619 |
| 2013 | 482 | #589 |
| 2012 | 523 | #561 |
| 2011 | 563 | #518 |
| 2010 | 541 | #541 |
| 2009 | 595 | #507 |
| 2008 | 543 | #567 |
| 2007 | 533 | #564 |
| 2006 | 564 | #535 |
| 2005 | 652 | #470 |
| 2004 | 676 | #450 |
| 2003 | 675 | #444 |
| 2002 | 851 | #349 |
| 2001 | 899 | #342 |
| 2000 | 1,194 | #271 |
| 1999 | 1,426 | #222 |
| 1998 | 1,611 | #193 |
| 1997 | 1,961 | #158 |
| 1996 | 2,310 | #140 |
| 1995 | 2,780 | #115 |
| 1994 | 3,566 | #91 |
| 1993 | 4,078 | #82 |
| 1992 | 4,010 | #85 |
| 1991 | 5,239 | #68 |
| 1990 | 5,905 | #60 |
| 1989 | 6,305 | #57 |
| 1988 | 7,853 | #39 |
| 1987 | 8,923 | #32 |
| 1986 | 9,536 | #32 |
| 1985 | 3,832 | #73 |
| 1984 | 2,287 | #125 |
| 1983 | 1,688 | #164 |
| 1982 | 1,478 | #185 |
| 1981 | 1,302 | #204 |
| 1980 | 1,169 | #219 |
| 1979 | 950 | #254 |
| 1978 | 778 | #297 |
| 1977 | 693 | #335 |
| 1976 | 533 | #385 |
| 1975 | 412 | #458 |
| 1974 | 368 | #481 |
| 1973 | 294 | #560 |
| 1972 | 297 | #557 |
| 1971 | 327 | #550 |
| 1970 | 351 | #539 |
| 1969 | 288 | #583 |
| 1968 | 249 | #610 |
| 1967 | 220 | #643 |
| 1966 | 224 | #640 |
| 1965 | 296 | #551 |
| 1964 | 331 | #543 |
| 1963 | 271 | #610 |
| 1962 | 191 | #748 |
| 1961 | 48 | #1,626 |
| 1960 | 29 | #2,149 |
| 1959 | 11 | #3,826 |
| 1958 | 19 | #2,662 |
| 1957 | 14 | #3,149 |
| 1956 | 11 | #3,695 |
| 1955 | 10 | #3,777 |
| 1954 | 11 | #3,489 |
| 1953 | 11 | #3,479 |
| 1952 | 20 | #2,326 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 15 | #2,651 |
| 1949 | 8 | #3,891 |
| 1948 | 6 | #4,649 |
| 1947 | 13 | #2,897 |
| 1946 | 11 | #3,033 |
| 1945 | 9 | #3,131 |
| 1944 | 9 | #3,138 |
| 1943 | 8 | #3,492 |
| 1942 | 11 | #2,815 |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,844 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,736 |
| 1939 | 5 | #4,248 |
| 1938 | 13 | #2,340 |
| 1937 | 6 | #3,798 |
| 1936 | 6 | #3,699 |
Names like Whitney
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Emily, Jessica, Francesca, Molly, Holly, Jasmine, Abigail, Amber, Erin, Bethany, Fatima, Sydney
Names related to Whitney
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, “Whitney: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/whitney, updated 20 October 2026.