Pollyanna
An optimistic and cheerful girl or woman who refuses to be discouraged.
Name Census estimates that about 713 living Americans carry the first name Pollyanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pollyanna today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pollyanna births was 1964 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pollyanna. 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.
People living today
713
~ 1 in 480,721 Americans
Peak year
1964
53 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,284
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Pollyanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pollyanna from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 284 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pollyanna 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 Pollyanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pollyannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Indiana, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Pollyanna, while Kentucky, Indiana, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pollyanna
The name Pollyanna is a feminine given name that is believed to have originated in the late 19th century as a literary creation by American author Eleanor H. Porter. It first appeared in her 1913 novel "Pollyanna," which told the story of a young orphan girl named Pollyanna Whittier who spreads joy and optimism through her philosophy of the "glad game."
The name Pollyanna is a combination of the common nicknames "Polly" and "Anna." Polly is a diminutive form of the name Mary, derived from the Greek name Μαρία (Maria), which in turn comes from the Hebrew name מִרְיָם (Miryam). Anna is a form of the Hebrew name חַנָּה (Channah), meaning "grace" or "favor."
While the name Pollyanna did not exist prior to Porter's novel, it quickly gained popularity as a given name in the early 20th century, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Its association with the cheerful and optimistic character from the novel likely contributed to its appeal.
Some notable individuals named Pollyanna throughout history include:
1. Pollyanna Woodward (1932-2019), American golfer and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
2. Pollyanna Pickering (born 1964), British artist and wildlife illustrator.
3. Pollyanna McIntosh (born 1979), Scottish actress known for her roles in films like "The Descent" and "The Walking Dead."
4. Pollyanna Yushchenko (born 1979), Ukrainian-American activist and the wife of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
5. Pollyanna Pickering (born 1988), English author and illustrator of children's books.
While the name Pollyanna may have started as a literary creation, it has since become a recognizable and enduring given name, particularly in the English-speaking world. Its association with optimism and joy has likely contributed to its lasting appeal.
People
Pollyanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pollyanna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pollyanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pollyanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 713 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pollyanna 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 480,721 US residents.
Is Pollyanna a common name?
We classify Pollyanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pollyanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Pollyanna was 1964, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pollyanna is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pollyanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pollyanna 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.