# Bonnie
**Bonnie** is a feminine given name meaning "pretty", taken from the Scottish word *bonnie*, whose origin is obscure.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) It has been in use as an American given name since the 19th century and became especially popular after the 1939 film *Gone with the Wind*, in which Bonnie is the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) After a long decline in the United States, the name has risen sharply in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand since the 2010s.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Meaning | "Pretty", from the Scots word *bonnie*; ultimately related to French *bon*, "good"[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) |
| US peak | 10,214 births in 1947; ranked #396 among girls in 2025 with 785 births[2](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie) |
| England and Wales | #16 among girls in 2024 with 1,583 registered births; #48 in 2025 with 882[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) |
| Highest recorded rank | #11 among girls in Scotland in 2024[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) |
| Male use | 4,037 boys registered with the name in the US since 1880, against predominantly female use[4](https://namecensus.com/first-names/bonnie-meaning-and-history/) |
| Related forms | Bonita (Spanish), Bonny, Bonni, Bonney[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) • [5](https://nameberry.com/name/bonnie) |
## The word behind the name
In Scots, *bonnie* (also spelled *bonny*) means beautiful, pretty, or attractive, and it can also mean considerable or be used ironically. The *Scottish National Dictionary* records the adjective from 1721 to 2000 in senses running from "beautiful, pretty, fair" through "handsome, attractive" to ironic uses such as "a bonny question".[6](https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bonny) The *Online Etymology Dictionary* dates the word in English from the 1540s, calls it a general Scottish epithet of appreciation often used ironically, and treats its origin as unknown, presumably from [Old French](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-french) *bon*, *bone*, "good".[7](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bonny) A Scottish popular-history account traces the word through [Middle French](https://www.edgepedia.org/middle-french) *bon* or *bonne* to Latin *bonus* and places the earliest recorded use of "bonny" in Scots before 1513, in the poetry of William Dunbar.[8](https://www.livebreathescotland.com/bonnie-scotland/) The dictionary evidence is more cautious: the *Scottish National Dictionary* entry states that the origin is obscure, with the earliest quotation in the *Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue* around 1500 in the spellings *bony* and *bonie*.[6](https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bonny)
The word remains in everyday Scottish use, in phrases such as "a bonnie lass" and "a bonnie bairn", and in the fixed phrase "Bonnie Scotland".[8](https://www.livebreathescotland.com/bonnie-scotland/) In Scotland the name Bonnie stands on its own as a given name taken directly from the Scots word.[8](https://www.livebreathescotland.com/bonnie-scotland/)
## History of use in the United States
Bonnie has been recorded in [Social Security Administration](https://www.edgepedia.org/social-security-administration) data since 1880, when 14 girls received the name.[2](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie) Its use grew through the early 20th century and peaked in 1947 at 10,214 births.[2](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie) Behind the Name attributes the name's mid-century popularity to *Gone with the Wind* (1939), in which Bonnie is the nickname of Scarlett's daughter.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) Nameberry adds that the name had a second cultural moment in the late 1960s with the film *Bonnie and Clyde*, about the outlaw Bonnie Parker.[5](https://nameberry.com/name/bonnie)
The name then declined for decades. In 2025 it ranked #396 among American girls, with 785 births, well below its 1947 high but rising again after a quieter period.[2](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie) Among living Americans the name remains widespread because of those earlier generations; Name Census estimates about 180,912 living Americans carry it, and the average person named Bonnie is around 65 years old.[4](https://namecensus.com/first-names/bonnie-meaning-and-history/) State-level SSA records for 2006 to 2025 show the name's relative popularity highest in Tennessee, Utah, and Oklahoma.[2](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie)
Male use has been small but persistent. The SSA has registered 4,037 boys named Bonnie since 1880, about 1.2 percent of all registrations for the name.[4](https://namecensus.com/first-names/bonnie-meaning-and-history/) Nameberry records quiet male use through the first half of the 20th century, peaking around 94 boys in 1934, and 5 boys named Bonnie in 2023.[5](https://nameberry.com/name/bonnie)
## The modern rise in Britain and the Commonwealth
The name's recent trajectory differs sharply between the United States and the rest of the [English-speaking world](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-speaking-world). In [England and Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/england-and-wales), Office for National Statistics data show Bonnie outside the top 300 for most of the period from 1996 to 2010, at ranks such as #356 in 1996 and #427 in 1999.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) From 2011 onward it climbed steadily: #218 in 2011, #95 in 2017, #45 in 2020, #26 in 2023, and #16 in 2024, when 1,583 girls were registered with the name, the largest single-registrar count in its record.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) In 2025 it slipped to #48 with 882 births.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie)
Scotland is where the name ranks highest: its highest recorded position anywhere is #11 among girls in Scotland in 2024.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) The longest continuous record is the [Republic of Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/republic-of-ireland)'s girls' list, which has ranked Bonnie in 30 of the 35 years from 1991 to 2025, beginning at #393 in 1991, with 1,271 births registered over that span.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) In 2025 Bonnie also ranked #64 among girls in the Republic of Ireland and #69 in [New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-south-wales), Australia.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie) Australian data show the same pattern of strength: McCrindle's national reports placed Bonnie at #84 in 2019 with 222 occurrences and #73 in 2020 with 291.[9](https://mccrindle.com.au/app/uploads/2022/07/Baby-Names-Australia-Report-2019.pdf) • [10](https://mccrindle.com.au/app/uploads/2022/07/Baby-Names-Australia-Report-2020.pdf)
Because each registrar publishes its own list, ranks are not comparable across countries; a position in one country cannot be read against a position in another.[3](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie)
## Variants and related names
Behind the Name lists Bonita as a variant, with the root *bon*.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie) Nameberry records the related forms Bonita, Boni, Bonne, and Bonny.[5](https://nameberry.com/name/bonnie) The spelling *Bonny* is the older Scottish form of the adjective, though *bonnie* has been the more common spelling since the 18th century and both remain in use.[8](https://www.livebreathescotland.com/bonnie-scotland/) Bonnie also exists as a surname: the *Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland* derives it as an English and Scottish nickname from the northern dialect word *bonnie*, "fine, beautiful", for a handsome person.[11](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf)
## References
1. [Bonnie: Meaning, origin and history, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/bonnie)
2. [Bonnie: historical trend and renewed use in the US, NameInTime](https://nameintime.com/us/bonnie)
3. [Bonnie: Popularity Statistics, Namewise](https://namewise.app/record/bonnie)
4. [Bonnie Name Meaning and History, Name Census](https://namecensus.com/first-names/bonnie-meaning-and-history/)
5. [Bonnie Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity, Nameberry](https://nameberry.com/name/bonnie)
6. [Bonny adj., adv., n., Dictionaries of the Scots Language](https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bonny)
7. [Bonny, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bonny)
8. [Why is it called Bonnie Scotland?, Live Breathe Scotland](https://www.livebreathescotland.com/bonnie-scotland/)
9. [Top 100 girls' names, Baby Names Australia Report 2019, McCrindle](https://mccrindle.com.au/app/uploads/2022/07/Baby-Names-Australia-Report-2019.pdf)
10. [Top 100 girls' names, Baby Names Australia Report 2020, McCrindle](https://mccrindle.com.au/app/uploads/2022/07/Baby-Names-Australia-Report-2020.pdf)
11. [The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Names and onomastics › Individual given names (by language and gender) › Celtic, Slavic, and world names*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license