Ivy

Ivy comes straight from the evergreen climbing plant. It is one of the plant and flower names that became popular for girls in the late nineteenth century, and it was well used in Britain in the early twentieth. It has occasionally been given to boys as well.

Ivy is also a surname. One suggestion, not fully proven, is that the surname began with innkeepers, since a branch of ivy was once hung outside a house to show that drink was sold there.

In Ireland Ivy was almost unknown for decades. It appears once on the CSO list in 1972 and then not again until 2002. It began its climb in 2012, when 13 girls were given it, and had its best year in 2023, with 111 girls and number 49. It is more popular in Northern Ireland, where it reached 26th that same year.