Given name & surname
Honey
“a very sweet woman”
Honey draws on the familiar word and its long use as an affectionate form of address.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One American interpretation is “a very sweet woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
The story
Honey appears as a given name in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. That literary use helped give an old term of endearment a place among modern first names.
Honey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,757
- 0 boys · 4,757 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 322 babies
- 2025
- 322
- #846 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +267%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 322 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 846 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 266.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (37). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,615 as a first name in 2020; 2,668 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Honey’s family of names
Honey has a related form in Honi. Honey has a related form in Honi. Honey has a related form in Honbree.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Honivariant
- Honievariant
- Honneylikely variant
- Honeyylikely variant
- Honeyelikely variant
- Honeavariant
- Honbreevariant
- Honbrievariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Honey
- Honey IraniIndian actress and screenwriterborn 1955
- Honey Benjaminpolitician of the Communist Party of India
- Honey Thaljiehformer Palestinian national football player; women's activist; communications manager at FIFAborn 1984
Characters named Honey: Honey Ryder (female character in the James Bond novel and film Dr. No).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Honey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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