Glennie
Valley dweller or dweller in the glen, of Scottish origin.
Name Census estimates that about 427 living Americans carry the first name Glennie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Glennie today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Glennie births was 1916 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Glennie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Glennie is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Glennies were born before 1959.
People living today
427
~ 1 in 802,703 Americans
Peak year
1916
63 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,371
Tracked since 1881
Gender
Gender distribution for Glennie
Glennie leans heavily female at 86.8% of total registrations, but 294 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Glennie as a male name
- Ranked #5,371 in 1973
- 5 male births in 1973
- Peak: 1927 (13 births)
Glennie as a female name
- Ranked #6,149 in 1972
- 8 female births in 1972
- Peak: 1916 (55 births)
Popularity
Glennie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Glennie from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 470 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Glennie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Glennie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Glennies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Glennie, while Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Glennie
The name Glennie is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "gleann," which means "valley." It is a name that originated in the Scottish Highlands and was commonly used as a diminutive form of the name Glenn or Glendon.
In ancient times, the name Glennie was likely used to refer to someone who lived in or near a valley. It may have been a descriptive name given to individuals based on their geographic location or occupation, such as a farmer or shepherd who worked in the valleys of the Scottish Highlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Glennie can be found in the Scottish Clan histories, where it is mentioned as a variant of the surname Glenn or Glendinning. These surnames were associated with prominent Scottish families and clans, suggesting that the name Glennie may have been used by members of these clans or their associates.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the first name Glennie. One example is Glennie Kinnear (1888-1958), a Scottish actress who appeared in numerous films during the early 20th century. Another is Glennie Bowman (1914-2005), an American artist and educator known for her work in ceramics and textile design.
Glennie Janzen (born 1933) is a Canadian author and poet who has published several collections of poetry and memoirs. Glennie Grimes (born 1942) is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1998 to 2006.
Additionally, Glennie Pickering (1944-2021) was a British actress and author, best known for her roles in television series such as "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale Farm."
While the name Glennie may have originated in the Scottish Highlands, it has been used across various cultures and regions throughout history. Its connection to the natural landscape and the concept of a valley has likely contributed to its enduring appeal and usage over the centuries.
People
Glennie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Glennie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Glennie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Glennie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 427 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Glennie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 802,703 US residents.
Is Glennie a common name?
We classify Glennie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Glennie most popular?
The single biggest year for Glennie was 1916, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Glennie is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Glennie a female name?
Yes, 86.8% of people registered as Glennie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.