In 1952, the word-name Fancy appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the very first time:
- 1954: unlisted
- 1953: unlisted
- 1952: 7 baby girls named Fancy [debut]
- 1951: unlisted
- 1950: unlisted
Why?
I think the primary reason is Frank Yerby’s 1951 novel A Woman Called Fancy, which went on to become the 5th best-selling book of the year.
Set in the late 19th century, the historical romance followed Fancy Williamson — a beautiful South Carolina woman who escaped an arranged marriage by moving to Georgia — as she rose “from poverty to prominence” among well-to-do Augustans. “Like all Yerby’s novels, A Woman Called Fancy presents a protagonist who is an outcast but achieves success in an alien culture.”
(The romantic comedy film Goodbye, My Fancy — released in mid-1951, and starring Joan Crawford — may have been a secondary influence.)
About twenty years later, the name saw a second boost in usage:
- 1972: 6 baby girls named Fancy
- 1971: 12 baby girls named Fancy
- 1970: 19 baby girls named Fancy
- 1969: unlisted
- 1968: unlisted
This one is attributable to the Bobbie Gentry song “Fancy,” which was released in late 1969 and peaked at #31 on Billboard‘s “Hot 100” chart in early 1970.
The song told the story of a young woman named Fancy who donned a red satin “dancin’ dress” to escape the cycle poverty. Here are some of the lyrics:
I couldn’t see spendin’ the rest of my life
with my head hung down in shame.
I mighta been born just plain white trash
but Fancy was my name.
There was also an uptick in the number of baby girls name Gentry in 1970.
…And about twenty years after that, Reba McEntire‘s 1990 cover of the song “Fancy” gave the name yet another boost. The name saw its highest-ever usage (36 baby girls) in 1991, in fact.
What are your thoughts on Fancy as a baby name?
Sources:
- A Woman Called Fancy – Oxford Reference
- Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1950s – Wikipedia
- Fancy (Bobbie Gentry song) – Wikipedia
- SSA
Top image: Adapted from the cover of A Woman Called Fancy
[Latest update: Sept. 2025]
