Vy
A feminine Vietnamese name meaning "excellence" or "preeminence".
Name Census estimates that about 1,274 living Americans carry the first name Vy. It is a predominantly female name (97.2% of registrations). The average person named Vy today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vy births was 2008 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Vy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 269,038 Americans
Peak year
2008
52 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
1997 SSA rank
#5,578
Tracked since 1979
Census
Vy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,463 people with the first name Vy, which placed it at #3,710 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,710
National first-name rank
People counted
5.5K
5,463 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vy is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.1% · 5,307
- White1.5% · 81
- Two or more races0.7% · 38
- Black or African American0.3% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Vy
Vy leans heavily female at 97.2% of total registrations, but 37 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Vy as a male name
- Ranked #10,760 in 1997
- 5 male births in 1997
- Peak: 1987 (6 births)
Vy as a female name
- Ranked #5,578 in 2024
- 23 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (52 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vy leans strongly female. 4,799 people counted with this name were female (87.9%), compared with 661 male bearers (12.1%).
Popularity
Vy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vy from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 416 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vy 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 Vy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Vy, while Virginia, Florida, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 99 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vy
The name Vy is of Vietnamese origin and has its roots in the ancient Vietnamese language. It is believed to have derived from the word "vy," which means "precious" or "valuable" in Vietnamese. This name gained popularity during the ancient Vietnamese kingdoms and dynasties, particularly during the Ly and Tran dynasties, which ruled from the 11th to the 15th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vy can be found in the ancient Vietnamese epic poem "The Tale of Kieu," written by the renowned poet Nguyen Du in the early 19th century. In this epic, one of the central characters is named Vy, which reflects the significance and cultural relevance of the name during that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vy. One of the earliest was Vy Quy (1072-1151), a famous Vietnamese Confucian scholar and politician who served as a high-ranking official during the Ly Dynasty. Another prominent figure was Vy Khanh (1339-1396), a Vietnamese military leader and strategist who played a crucial role in defending the country against Chinese invasions during the Tran Dynasty.
In more recent times, the name Vy has been carried by several influential individuals, such as Vy Thi Huong (born 1988), a Vietnamese woman who gained international attention for her involvement in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in 2017. Another notable bearer of the name is Vy Higginsen (born 1949), an American playwright, producer, and writer best known for her musical productions and her work in promoting African-American culture and arts.
Additionally, the name Vy has been associated with various artistic and cultural figures, such as Vy Nguyen (born 1982), a Vietnamese-American fashion designer and entrepreneur, and Vy Le (born 1981), a Vietnamese-Canadian actress and model who has appeared in several Hollywood productions.
While the name Vy has its roots in Vietnamese culture, it has transcended borders and gained recognition in various parts of the world, reflecting the rich cultural diversity and the enduring appeal of this ancient Vietnamese name.
People
Vy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,274 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vy 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 269,038 US residents.
Is Vy a common name?
We classify Vy as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vy most popular?
The single biggest year for Vy was 2008, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vy is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,463 people with the name Vy, or 1.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,710 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vy in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vy leans strongly female. 4,799 people counted with this name were female (87.9%), compared with 661 male bearers (12.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vy is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.1%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vy most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (5,307 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Vy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vy a female name?
Yes, 97.2% of people registered as Vy 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.
Is Vy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vy in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Vy can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Vy?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Vy, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.