Nancy is a common

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

for women. The name Nancy was originally a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

form of Anne or Ann. It began to be used as a proper name from the 18th century onwards. Similar names include Nan, Nance,

Nanette Nanette is a feminine given name. By 2013, the name was considered to be on the verge of extinction in the United States; it had been among the top 1000 baby names until 1977, and had reached a peak in usage in 1956. Notable people with the name i ...

, and

Nannie Nannie is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Nannie Helen Burroughs, (1879–1961), African-American educator, orator, religious leader and businesswoman * Nannie Webb Curtis (1861–1920), American lecturer, temperance activist ...

. Nancy may refer to:

People

* Nancy Ajram (born 1983), Lebanese singer * Nancy Alexiadi, Greek singer *

Nancy Allen (actress) Nancy Anne Allen (born June 24, 1950) is an American actress. She came to prominence for her performances in several films directed by Brian De Palma in the 1970s and early 1980s. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award nomination and three ...

(born 1950), American actress *

Nancy Allen (harpist) Nancy Allen (born 1954) is a prominent harpist from the United States. The daughter of a public school music teacher in the Carmel, New York district, she won numerous international competitions starting at a young age. In 1973 she won first priz ...

(born 1954), American harpist *

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

(1879–1954), first woman to sit in British Parliament *

Nancy Balfour Nancy Balfour (17 May 1911 – 29 August 1997) was an American-born English arts administrator for the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) and journalist for ''The Economist''. She worked for ''The Economist'' from 1948 to 1972 as editor of its Ameri ...

(1911–1997), English arts administrator and journalist *

Nancy Lee Bass Nancy Lee Bass (1917–2013) was an American philanthropist. She was known as the " First Lady of Fort Worth, Texas."Steve CampbellNancy Lee Bass was the "first lady of Fort Worth" ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', March 1, 2013 Early life Nancy ...

(1917–2013), American philanthropist * Nancy Benoit (1964–2007), American professional wrestling manager * Nancy Binay (born 1973), Filipina politician *

Nancy Boyd-Franklin Nancy Boyd-Franklin (born June 13, 1950) is an American psychologist and writer. She is the author of five books and numerous articles on ethnicity and family therapy, and was invited by President Bill Clinton to speak at the first White House C ...

(born 1950), American psychologist and writer * Nancy Carell (born 1966), American comedian and actress * Nancy Carrillo (born 1986), Cuban volleyball player * Nancy Carroll (1903–1965), American actress * Nancy Cartwright (born 1957), American actress * Nancy Dell'Olio (born 1961), Italian lawyer * Nancy Doe (born 1949), First Lady of Liberia * Nancy Edberg (1832–1892), Swedish swimmer * Nancy Walker Bush Ellis (1926–2021), American environmentalist * Nancy Everhard (born 1957), American actress * Nancy Faeser (born 1970), German politician *

Nancy Fish Nancy Fish Barnum Callias D'Orengiani, Baroness (née Fish; 22 April 1850 – 23 June 1927) was an English socialite, daughter of a successful cotton miller and the second wife of P. T. Barnum, 40 years her senior. After the death of Barnum's ...

(1850–1927), English socialite *

Nancy Garrido On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard, an eleven-year-old girl, was abducted from a street while walking to her school bus stop in Meyers, California, United States. Searches began immediately after Dugard's disappearance, but no reliable lea ...

, wife of sex offender and kidnapper Phillip Garrido *

Nancy Goldsmith Nancy (Nanci) Goldsmith (נאנסי גולדשמידט; born August 4, 1966) is an American citizen who competed for Israel as an Olympic gymnast. Early life and gymnastics career Goldsmith is Jewish by birth. Much of her training (1978 - 1987) ...

(born 1966), Israeli Olympic gymnast *

Nancy Gordon Nancy May Gordon is an American economist and statistician who works for the United States Census Bureau. Education and career Gordon majored in economics and statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a doctorate in economic ...

, American economist and statistician *

Nancy Grace Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator and television journalist. She hosted ''Nancy Grace'', a nightly celebrity news and current affairs show on HLN, from 2005 to 2016, and Court TV's ''Closing Arguments' ...

(born 1959), American prosecutor & TV personality * Nancy Greene (born 1943), Canadian alpine skier * Nancy Guillén (born 1976), Salvadoran hammer thrower * Nancy Haigwood, American scientist *

Nancy Hayfield Nancy Hayfield is an author, editor, and publisher. In 1979, she graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University. Nancy Hayfield's first novel ''Cleaning House'' was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1980. In 1985, writing under her m ...

, American author, editor, and publisher *

Nancy Hower Nancy Hower is an American actress, director, screenwriter and producer. Early life Nancy Hower grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, and is one of nine children. She appeared onstage for the first time as a senior in high school. Upon graduating ...

(born 1966), American actress, director, screenwriter and producer * Nancy Hubbard (born 1963), American author and professor of business and management * Nancy Jewel McDonie (born 2000), singer in K-Pop band Momoland, performs under the name Nancy *

Nancy Jobson Nancy Jobson (17 April 1880 – 22 June 1964) was an Australian teacher and headmistress. Biography Jobson was born at Clunes, Victoria in 1880 to Christopher Jobson, a merchant from Northumberland, England, and his second wife Elizabeth Came ...

(1880–1964), Australian teacher and headmistress *

Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American figure skating, figure skater and actress. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympic ...

(born 1969), American figure skater *

Nan Kinross Nancy Joan Kinross (30 October 1926 – 17 May 2021) was a New Zealand nurse and nursing academic. In 1985, she was appointed the first professor of nursing at Massey University, and was the second female professor at the university. Biography ...

(1926–2021), New Zealand nurse and nursing academic * Nancy Kwan (born 1939), Hong Kong American actress * Nancy Ledins (1932–2017), American Catholic priest and transgender woman * Nancy Leveson, American expert in system and software safety * Nancy Lieberman (born 1958), American WNBA Hall of Fame basketball player, general manager, and coach, Olympic silver medal *

Nancy Lincoln Nancy Hanks Lincoln (February 5, 1784 – October 5, 1818) was the mother of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Her marriage to Thomas Lincoln also produced a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Thomas Jr. When Nancy and Thomas had been married for j ...

(1784–1818), mother of Abraham Lincoln *

Nancy Lublin Nancy Lublin (born June 30, 1971) is an American nonprofit executive and businesswoman who was the founder and former CEO of Crisis Text Line and the founder of Dress for Success. She was also the CEO of Do Something Inc., a company that mobili ...

(born 1971), American businesswoman *

Nancy Luce Nancy Luce (August 23, 1814 - April 9, 1890) was a poet and folk artist who lived in West Tisbury, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard. Biography Luce was orphaned by her parents, Philip Luce and Anne Manter, in her late twenties and suffered a d ...

(1814–1890), American folk artist and poet *

Nancy Ludington Nancy Irene Rouillard ( married names: Ludington, Graham, born July 25, 1939) is an American former pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in uni ...

(born 1939), American pair skater *

Nancy Lusk Nancy Niles Lusk (October 12, 1953) is an American politician who served as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 ...

, American politician * Nancy Lynn (1956–2006), American entrepreneur, pilot, and public speaker *

Nancy Mace Nancy Ruth Mace (born December 4, 1977) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district includes much of the state's share of the East Coast, from Charleston t ...

(born 1977), American politician * Nancy Mann, American statistician * Nancy Marchand (1928–2000), American actress * Nancy Marcus (1950-2018), American biologist and college administrator *

Nancy Mowll Mathews Nancy Mowll Mathews (born 1947 in Baltimore) is a History of the Czechs in Baltimore, Czech-American Art history, art historian, curator and author. She was the Eugénie Prendergast Senior Curator of 19th and 20th Century Art at the Williams Colleg ...

(born 1947), Czech-American art historian, curator, and author *

Nancy McArthur Nancy McArthur (October 30, 1931 – July 15, 2020) was an American children's author. Living in Berea, Ohio, she was a part-time journalism professor at Baldwin-Wallace College. She wrote fourteen books, nine of which form a series called ''The P ...

, American children's author * Nancy McCredie (1945–2021), Canadian track and field athlete * Nancy McKeon (born 1966), American actress * Nancy McLeón (born 1971), Cuban track and field athlete *

Nancy Melcher Nancy Melcher Diemand (1916-2015) was a fashion designer specializing in lingerie. In 1950, she became the first underwear designer to win a Coty Award. Biography Melcher was the daughter of the publisher Frederic G. Melcher and his wife, childr ...

(1916–2015), American lingerie designer *

Nancy Metcalf Nancy Jean Metcalf (née Meendering; born November 12, 1978) is an American indoor volleyball player. She represented her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she finished in fifth place with the USA National Te ...

(born 1978), American volleyball player * Nancy Mitford (1904–1973), English novelist and biographer * Nancy Neudauer, American mathematician * Nancy Oakes, American chef * Nancy O'Dell (born 1966), American television host and entertainment journalist *

Nancy Osbaldeston Nancy Osbaldeston (born 1989) is an English ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet of Flanders. Osbaldeston was born in Cuckfield, England. She started dancing at age 3, and appeared in Birmingham Royal Ballet's ...

(born 1989), English ballet dancer *

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

(born 1940), 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives *

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

(1921–2016), former First Lady of the United States *

Nancy Richler Nancy Richler (May 16, 1957 – January 18, 2018) was a Canadian novelist. Her novels won two international awards and were shortlisted for three others; Richler was also shortlisted for the Canadian Booksellers Association Author of the Year awa ...

(1957–2018), Canadian novelist * Nancy Roper (1918–2004), British nurse theorist and lexicographer * Nancy Salzman (born 1954), American felon * Nancy L. Segal (born 1951), American evolutionary psychologist and behavioral geneticist * Nancy Sinatra (born 1940), American singer and actress * Nancy Spungen (1958–1978), American ex-girlfriend of Sid Vicious and murder victim *

Nancy Shukri Nancy binti Shukri ( Jawi: ننسي بنت شكري; born 5 August 1961) is a Malaysian politician from the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a component party of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). She has served as Minister of Women, Fam ...

(born 1961), Malaysian politician * Nancy Sullivan (disambiguation) * Nancy Tate, American politician *

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. ...

(born 1961), American actress * Nancy Vallecilla (born 1957), Ecuadorian athlete *

Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) Nancy Sue Wilson (February 20, 1937 – December 13, 2018) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned over five decades, from the mid-1950s until her retirement in the early 2010s. She was especially notable for her single "(You Don' ...

(1937–2018), American jazz singer * Nancy Wilson (rock musician) (born 1954), American musician and member of the band Heart *

Nancy Wilson (religious leader) Nancy L. Wilson (born 1950) is an American cleric who served as the moderator of the Metropolitan Community Church, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Under Wilson's leadership, the denomination became known as "The Human Ri ...

(born 1950), current Moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches *

Nancy Wilson (journalist) Nancy Wilson (born c. 1955) is a Canadian television journalist. She was an anchor for CBC News Now before her retirement. She joined CBC Newsworld in 1991 as the host of ''This Country''. Prior to joining, Wilson worked on CBC Television's newsm ...

, Canadian television journalist *

Nancy Wu Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

(born 1981), Hong Kong actress * Nancy VanderMeer, American businesswoman and politician *

Nancy Yi Fan Nancy Yi Fan (born August 26, 1993 ) is a Chinese American author who is best known for writing a series that currently consists of the novels '' Swordbird'', '' Sword Quest'', and '' Sword Mountain''. Biography Fan was born in Beijing, China ...

(born 1993), Chinese-American author * Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu (c.1935–2005), Aboriginal Australian artist *

Nancy Zafris Nancy Zafris is an American novelist and short story writer. She has won individual artist's grants, from the Massachusetts Arts Council, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and the Ohio Arts Council. She was a senior Fulbright fellow, and taught ...

, American writer

Fictional characters

* Nancy, a character from ''Oliver Twist'' * Nancy, a radio dispatcher who assigns missions on the '' Chase H.Q.'' series of video games * Nancy Adams, a character from the 2016 film '' The Shallows'' * Nancy Blackett, a character from ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of books by Arthur Ransome *

Nancy Botwin This is a list of characters from the television series '' Weeds''. Nancy Botwin's family Nancy Botwin Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker, leading character)—also known as Lacey LaPlante (season two) and Nathalie Newman (season six)—was a PTA ...

, the female lead on the TV series ''Weeds'' *

Nancy Callahan Nancy Callahan is a fictional character from the graphic novel series ''Sin City'', created by Frank Miller and based on "Dirty" Harry Callahan by Harry Julian Fink and R. M. Fink. She first appeared in "The Hard Goodbye" before becoming a more ...

, a character from ''Sin City'' * Nancy Clancy Thompson, a character from

Jackie French Jacqueline Anne Ffrench (born 29 November 1953), known professionally as Jackie French, is an Australian author who has written across a number of genres for both adults and children. Her most notable works include '' Rain Stones, Diary of a ...

's "Matilda Saga" * Nancy (comic strip), created by Ernie Bushmiller *

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...

, the heroine detective of the mystery series of the same name * Nancy Downs, a character from '' The Craft'' * Nancy Green, a character from ''

Big City Greens ''Big City Greens'' is an American animated comedy adventure television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series features the voices of Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, and ...

'' *

Nancy Gribble ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The main characters are Hank Hill, Peggy Hill, Bobby Hill, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, Jeff Boomhauer, Luanne Platter, Nancy Gribble, Joseph Gribble, ...

, a character from ''King of the Hill'', wife of Dale Gribble * Nancy Hayton, a regular character in Channel 4 soap opera '' Hollyoaks'' * Nancy Kitchen, a character in animated series '' Budgie the Little Helicopter'' * Nancy Knapp, a fictional character and chapter title in '' Spoon River Anthology'' *

Nancy Leathers ''Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera, initially produced by Granada Television. Created by writer Tony Warren, ''Coronation Street'' first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in the show' ...

, a fictional character in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', the grandmother of Ken Barlow and the mother of Ida Barlow * Nancy Partridge, a character from '' Sherlock Holmes in Washington'' * Nancy Taylor, a character in the 1993 American fantasy comedy ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

'' *

Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street) Nancy Thompson is a fictional character in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise. She first appears in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as a teenager hunted in her dreams by enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she ...

, the heroine from two of the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' films * Nancy Tremaine, a character in the 2007 film Enchanted * Nancy Wilmot, a schoolgirl and later mistress in Elinor Brent-Dyer's ''

Chalet School The Chalet School is a series of 64 school story novels by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, initially published between 1925 and 1970. The fictional school was initially located in the Austrian Tyrol, before it was moved to Guernsey in 1939 following the ...

''series *

Nancy Wesley Nancy Wesley is a fictional character from the American NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played by Patrika Darbo. Nancy was created when the serial's producer Tom Langan wanted a "real woman" as opposed to a "super-skinny" actress to join the ...

, a character on soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' *

Nancy Wheeler Nancy Wheeler is a fictional character from the Netflix television show '' Stranger Things'', portrayed by Natalia Dyer. Nancy is the sister of Mike Wheeler, the girlfriend of Jonathan Byers, and the ex-girlfriend of Steve Harrington. Nancy ...

, a character from ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

Notes

{{given name, Nancy Given names Feminine given names English given names English feminine given names