Honey

The name started off as a diminutive form of Honorata, Honor(i)a, Honour and Honesty in the 18th century and spun off as an independent given-name by the early 1900s. Its modern use is no doubt in reference to the sweet substance produced by bees, as well as the familiar term of endearment.

Honey began to catch on in England & Wales in the early 2000s, entering the Top 500 in 2003 and peaking at #152 in 2005. Its sudden rise may have been influenced by several high-profile British celebrity baby names. Kate Winslet gave her daughter the middle name Honey in 2000, followed by Jamie and Jools Oliver’s daughter Poppy Honey Rosie in 2002. Fearne Cotton later named her daughter Honey Krissy in 2015. The name fell to #465 in 2018 but has recently made a comeback, reaching #199 in England & Wales in 2025.

Honey has also seen a sudden rise in the United States. Though it has appeared sporadically in U.S. birth records since 1912, it was given to only 57 girls in 2018. This increased to 96 in 2020, 135 in 2021, 200 in 2022 and 282 in 2024, when Honey entered the U.S. Top 1000 for the first time. In 2025, it rose again to #846.

Its recent American rise may have been helped by reality television personality Sadie Robertson, who named her first daughter Honey James in 2021. The name also fits in with the current revival of sweet, old-fashioned nickname and word names.

Sources

• https://www.behindthename.com/name/honey