NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Ivory

An English name meaning "made of or related to elephant tusk".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Ivory is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Ivory popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1894, with 15 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 15 births.

This profile covers 128 England and Wales registrations across 15 recorded years from 1998 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Ivory is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 130 living people in the UK are called Ivory. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Ivory ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 15 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2024, when 15 girls were registered as Ivory.
  • Ivory ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #792 in 2021.
  • About 130 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ivory as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1894

2024

Births in 2024

15

Latest year

Peak year

2024

15 births

Estimated living

130

2026

Meaning

What does Ivory mean?

The name Ivory is an English name derived from the word "ivory," which refers to the hard, white material that comes from the tusks of elephants. The name is believed to have originated in the late 18th or early 19th century, during a period when the ivory trade was flourishing in parts of Europe and North America.

The earliest recorded use of the name Ivory can be traced back to the late 1800s. One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name was Ivory Jeffries, an American baseball player who was born in 1892 and played for the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns in the early 20th century.

In the realm of literature, one of the most famous individuals named Ivory was Ivory Perry, an American writer and poet who was born in 1940. He is best known for his works exploring African American culture and identity, such as the poetry collection "Mugging the Muse" (1974).

Another notable Ivory was Ivory Williams, an American blues singer and songwriter who was born in 1923. She was a pioneering figure in the Memphis blues scene and recorded several influential albums in the 1960s and 1970s, including "Ivory's Blues" (1968).

In the world of sports, Ivory Lyles was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. She specialized in the hurdles events and won silver medals in the 100m hurdles at both the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.

More recently, Ivory Aquino is an American actress and advocate for transgender rights. Born in 1983, she has appeared in various television shows and films, including roles in "When We Rise" (2017) and "Tales of the City" (2019).

While the name Ivory is not as common as some other English names, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including athletes, writers, musicians, and actors. The name's connection to the ivory material gives it a unique and evocative quality.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Ivory over time

The chart below shows babies named Ivory registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Ivory, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 15 births in 2024, compared with 15 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Ivory
0481115199820112024

Decades

Ivory by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ivory was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #2281 58 5
2010s #2959 59 7
2000s #4059 8 2
1990s #3848 3 1

Geography

Where Ivory is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ivory. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Ivory ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #792 in 2021.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Ivory in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#792 in 2021

1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered

Related

Names similar to Ivory

FAQ

Ivory: questions and answers

How popular is the name Ivory in the UK right now?

In 2024, Ivory was ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales, with 15 births registered.

When was Ivory most popular?

The peak year on record was 2024, with 15 babies registered as Ivory in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Ivory?

An English name meaning "made of or related to elephant tusk".

How many people are called Ivory in the UK?

A total of 128 babies have been registered as Ivory across the 15 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.

Where is Ivory most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Ivory ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #792 in 2021. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.