Tolly
Tolly is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:Tolly Burkan, firewalking spokesperson Tolly Burnett (1923–1993), English cricketer William Tolly (1715–1784), officer in British East India Company Barclay de Tolly, aristocratic family Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (1761–1818), German field-marshal Emma Tolly, fictional character in Children of the Red King
- English
Meaning & Origin of Tolly
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Tolly is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:Tolly Burkan, firewalking spokesperson Tolly Burnett (1923–1993), English cricketer William Tolly (1715–1784), officer in British East India Company Barclay de Tolly, aristocratic family Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (1761–1818), German field-marshal Emma Tolly, fictional character in Children of the Red King
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Tolly
As a girl name
American parents first put Tolly on the record books as a girl name in 1976, with 6 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1976, when 6 Tollys were born — ranking #8,157 that year. Its most recent appearance in the national data came in 1976 (6 births); the name has since faded from the published rankings. In total, more than 6 Tollys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s.
As a boy name
Tolly first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1947, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1949: 6 births, good for #3,298 nationwide. Its most recent appearance in the national data came in 1949 (6 births); the name has since faded from the published rankings. In total, more than 11 Tollys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1940s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Tolly
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Tolly. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Tolly
Phonetically similar names — useful when Tolly is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tolly
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About the name Tolly
Tolly is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1947 and has accumulated 11 births in the dataset. Tolly's peak popularity came in 1949 when it ranked #3,298. Use the chart and map above to compare Tolly's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1949 →
- Names of the 1940s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
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.