Girl · #2,062 in 2026

Ally

Name: Popularity of the name Ally in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Ally, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Ally is a unisex given name, nickname and/or surname. It is a variant of Allie and Ali. It is used as a diminutive nickname for the given names Alison, Alexandra or Alyssa (feminine) or Alexander, Alister, or Alan (masculine). Notable people with the name include:

Current Rank

#2,062

Peak Rank

#417 (1998)

Total Babies

10K

5-Yr Trend

-38%

1985

First Year

2026

Last Year

1998

Peak Year

#417

Peak Rank

10K

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Ally

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Ally

Ally first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1985, with 13 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1998, when 636 Allys were born — ranking #417 that year. As of 2026, Ally ranks #2,062 for baby girls with 94 births, falling sharply (-38%). In total, more than 10K Allys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1980s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Ally

Phonetically similar names — useful when Ally is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Alley
Allie
Aloe
Alloy
Alli
Alie
Allo
Alow
Alah
Eli
Ely
Alai

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ally

What does the name Ally mean?

How popular is Ally in 2026?

In 2026, Ally ranks #2,062 among girls' names in the U.S., with 94 babies given the name that year.

When was Ally most popular?

Ally reached its peak popularity in 1998, ranking #417 that year with 636 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Ally most popular?

Ally has historically been most popular in North Dakota, Alaska, Kentucky. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Ally.

Is Ally a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Ally is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Ally?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Ally include Katheryn, Mozelle, Marylyn. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Ally

Ally is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1985 and has accumulated 10K births in the dataset. Ally's peak popularity came in 1998 when it ranked #417. Use the chart and map above to compare Ally's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.