Livy
Feminine
Livy is a short form and also the English name of a Roman historian who wrote a hundred and forty-two books about Rome, of which thirty-five survive. Titus Livius is the man; Livy is what English does to him.
How old is the name Livy?
Livy first appears in US birth records in 2004 — 21 years ago. The typical Livy is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Livy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Livy most popular?
Livy peaked in 2024, reaching #2930 nationally. Today it ranks #2957, 27 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Livius to Livy
The story of Livy
Titus Livius of Padua wrote a history of Rome from its foundation to his own lifetime, and English shortened his name to Livy in the same way it made Pliny out of Plinius and Ovid out of Ovidius — a general habit with Roman authors. Separately, the Roman gens Livia carried the name and gave it to a woman who became the wife of Augustus. In modern English Livy is almost always a trimming of Olivia rather than a reference to either, and it has begun appearing as a full name in its own right.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Livius is a Roman gens name and, like most of them, has no established derivation. A connection to liveo, 'to be bluish or leaden', has been offered and is not flattering or secure; an Etruscan source is likely for a name of this type. In modern use Livy is chiefly a short form of Olivia, built on Latin oliva, 'olive', or of Livia, which is the Roman name itself. Nothing is settled.
How the name formed
- Livius
- Livia
- Livy
Related forms: Livia · Livvy · Livius
Pronouncing Livy
LIV-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first, the first vowel short as in give. LY-vee, with a long i, is occasionally heard and is not the usual saying.
Nicknames for Livy
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2004
- Most girls named
- 202456 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2930reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%56 in 2025, from 56
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Livy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Livia in Italian — related form
- Livvy in English — spelling variant
- Livius in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Louisiana, California.
Livys among us
people named Livy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 28,701 born in 2025 was named Livy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Livy
- #2957
- Livy on the 2025 chart
- #692
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Livy went to 56 girls in 2025, but Livvy, Livi and Livvi are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 274, which makes it the 692nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,265 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 5,866 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 28,701 for Livy itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jadalynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Livy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jadalynn climbed just as high around 2007, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jadalynn's path sketches the road Livy is walking now.
Livy sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Livy is headed
Livy looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 29% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Livy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Livy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Olivia and Livia both stand behind it as full formal names if one is wanted.
- Liv is a ready shorter form and a complete name of its own in Scandinavia.
- Four letters, two syllables, and said correctly by everyone at first sight.
- It is a diminutive by construction and reads as informal on official documents.
- Livy, Livvy, Livie and Liv all circulate and get swapped freely.
- Olivia is extremely common, and a Livy will usually be assumed to be one.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Livy
Feminine · #2957 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Livys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Livy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Livy?
- Livy is one of 4 recorded spellings. Livvy is the more common one — 165 births in 2025 against 56 for Livy.
- How popular is the name Livy in 2025?
- Livy ranks #2957 among US girl names in 2025, with 56 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Livy?
- About 1 in every 28,701 US girls born in 2025 was named Livy — 56 in all.
- Will my child share the name Livy with classmates?
- Livy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Livy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Klaire#2957 · Pauline#2957 · Alea#2957 · Odelia#2957 · Rahaf#2957 · Rosabella#2957 · Kenzlee#2957 · Kalli#2957
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Livy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Livy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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