Yanky
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- YAN-kee
- Origin
- Hebrew
- US rank, 2025
- #3,657 for boys
Yanky is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “holder of the heel”. In 2025 it ranked 3,657th for boys in the US (30 babies).
What does Yanky mean?
Hebrew: Yiddish pet form of Yaakov (Jacob)
“holder of the heel”
A Yiddish diminutive of Yaakov, related to Yankel, used mainly in Orthodox Jewish families.
Is Yanky a girl's or a boy's name?
Yanky is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 30 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Yanky in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2022, with 9 boys.
Yanky in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 2022 | 9 | #2,457 |
| 2021 | 4 | #4,188 |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 3 | #4,884 |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 3 | #4,486 |
How popular is Yanky in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,657th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 30 about 1 in 57,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 131% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 30 boys in the US were named Yanky, making it the 3,657th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,037th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 32 boys. It first appears in the records in 2005.
Half of all the boys named Yanky in the US since 1880 were born between 2016 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Yanky in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | #3,657 |
| 2024 | 30 | #3,691 |
| 2023 | 30 | #3,710 |
| 2022 | 32 | #3,531 |
| 2021 | 18 | #5,105 |
| 2020 | 18 | #5,037 |
| 2019 | 9 | #8,209 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 10 | #7,542 |
| 2016 | 8 | #8,811 |
| 2015 | 7 | #9,562 |
| 2014 | 6 | #10,711 |
| 2013 | 14 | #5,919 |
| 2012 | 8 | #8,858 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 10 | #7,585 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 5 | #12,546 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 6 | #10,655 |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,464 |
Names like Yanky
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Yunus, Bodhi, Yusuf, Ivaan, Aarav, Yahya, Remy, Yuvraj, River, Shivansh, Yusha, Krishiv
Names related to Yanky
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias
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, “Yanky: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/yanky, updated 20 October 2026.