Jolly

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Literal meaning not recorded

Jolly has been given to 467 babies in the U.S. since 1891. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1934, with 14 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 75% boys, 25% girls all-time.

Babies named Jolly, 1978

1 in 529,000

Jolly over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Jolly over time

In 2022, Jolly went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18912022

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Jolly: meaning, origin, and history

Literal meaning not recorded

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Jolly means

Jolly is a given name.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* Cognate to the French name Jolie. It derives from the Old French word joli (merriness). * In Punjab (India) it is a corruption of the word jalli.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Jolly (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Jolly is used in English.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 348 boys were recorded with the name Jolly between 1891 and 1978. Its highest annual count was 14 in 1934; its best national rank was #1,043 in 1891.

In the United States, 119 girls were recorded with the name Jolly between 1926 and 2022. Its highest annual count was 11 in 1937; its best national rank was #2,631 in 1937.

How common is Jolly?

Jolly had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1978, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1978: 1 in 529,000; 6 of 3,173,639 births
Among boys only: 1 in 274,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1978: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 366,634 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Jolly sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1978 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 366,634 children born in 1978 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Jolly. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Jollys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Jolly was born before 1934 — so the typical Jolly is around 91 today.

Median birth year: 1934; About 91 years old
Biggest decade: 1930s; 26.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 15.5%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 77; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1930s — 26.4% of all recorded uses (92).

Is Jolly rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1934 (14)
Years since peak: 91; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 34.2% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,043; 1891

Spellings of Jolly

Jolly is not the most common spelling — Billy is, with 40.8% against Jolly's 0.04%.

Billy40.8%384,233
Joel29.7%279,655
Kelly8.8%82,400
Colby5.7%53,971
Joey5.7%53,758
Jody3.4%31,562
Kolby1.2%11,650
Jordy0.71%6,687

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Jolly by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,043; 1891
Peak year: 1934; 14 that year
First recorded: 1891
Last recorded: 1978
All-time count: 348
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,631; 1937
Peak year: 1937; 11 that year
First recorded: 1926
Last recorded: 2022
All-time count: 119
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Jolly

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Jolan Rolly Sully Tully Molly Jolon Nelly Cully Olly Sally Jolin Jolen Solly Tally Willy Rally Rielly Wally Telly Holly Jolyon Connelly Dolly Reilly

Sibling names for Jolly

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Shirlee Marlyn Lavonne Claudette Bettye Louella Marlys Donald

For a brother

Boyce Arlen Delano Talmadge Franklyn Huey Shirley Rayford

Explore around Jolly

Top names of 1934, Jolly's peak year The 1930s in full Other names that peaked in 1891 Boys' names starting with J