Head to head · Boys' names
Scott vs Troy
#534 vs #532 in 2025
Troy is a whisker ahead (#532 vs #534 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Troy is stepping back from its peak, Scott is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Scott has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Scott leads 3 measures of 6; Troy leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Scott #237, Troy #520 — Scott higher
- 1890s: Scott #292, Troy #342 — Scott higher
- 1900s: Scott #359, Troy #252 — Troy higher
- 1910s: Scott #414, Troy #247 — Troy higher
- 1920s: Scott #437, Troy #243 — Troy higher
- 1930s: Scott #405, Troy #223 — Troy higher
- 1940s: Scott #204, Troy #236 — Scott higher
- 1950s: Scott #44, Troy #268 — Scott higher
- 1960s: Scott #15, Troy #68 — Scott higher
- 1970s: Scott #20, Troy #68 — Scott higher
- 1980s: Scott #41, Troy #118 — Scott higher
- 1990s: Scott #90, Troy #152 — Scott higher
- 2000s: Scott #235, Troy #236 — Scott higher
- 2010s: Scott #439, Troy #302 — Troy higher
- 2020s: Scott #576, Troy #471 — Troy higher
Scott stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Troy has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Scott | Troy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #237 | #520 |
| 1890s | #292 | #342 |
| 1900s | #359 | #252 |
| 1910s | #414 | #247 |
| 1920s | #437 | #243 |
| 1930s | #405 | #223 |
| 1940s | #204 | #236 |
| 1950s | #44 | #268 |
| 1960s | #15 | #68 |
| 1970s | #20 | #68 |
| 1980s | #41 | #118 |
| 1990s | #90 | #152 |
| 2000s | #235 | #236 |
| 2010s | #439 | #302 |
| 2020s | #576 | #471 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Scott
a Scot
The name is a nationality used as a personal name. What Scotti itself meant is not known; it is a Latin rendering of something the Romans heard, and no reliable etymology survives.
Scotti → Scott
How it traveled
In medieval England the surname meant exactly what it says: a man from Scotland, or a Gaelic speaker, given the name by neighbors who noticed. Border families carried it heavily, and it is now one of the commonest surnames in Scotland itself, which is a slight joke — you do not need to say a man is Scottish while he is standing in Scotland.
Troy
Not established
The city's name has no recoverable meaning; it is older than the languages that would explain it. As an English name it can equally come from an Irish surname or a French place, and the record does not distinguish.
Troy
How it traveled
The mound at Hisarlik in Turkey has nine cities stacked on it, and the one Schliemann called Homer's was a thousand years too early. Later excavation sorted it out, and there is a level with burnt destruction at about the right date, though whether any of the poem happened is a separate question.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Scott
SKOT
One syllable, rhyming with hot. Said the same way everywhere English is spoken.
- Scotty — The affectionate form; a standing name of its own in America.
- Scottie — The ie spelling of the same form; also a breed of dog.
Troy
TROY
One syllable, rhyming with boy. Said the same way everywhere English is spoken.
- Troyboy — An affectionate American form used among family and friends.
- T — The bare initial used as an address; common on teams.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Scott if you want…
- a name on the way upup 28 places on the charts in five years
Choose Troy if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsTroy is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Scott
Strengths
- One syllable and five letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the nineteen-sixties and seventies in America.
- It is also a very common surname, so Scott Scott is possible and does happen.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Troy
Strengths
- One syllable and four letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century.
- The city it names is famous for being destroyed, which some families think about and others do not.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Scott and Troy in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Scott and Troy?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Scott and Troy — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Scott or Troy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Scott or Troy?
- Troy, in 2025: Troy ranked #532 with 563 babies; Scott ranked #534 with 561 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Scott or Troy?
- Scott. Over the last five years Scott moved up 28 places; Troy moved down 118 places.
- Which is the older name, Scott or Troy?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Scott and Troy?
- About 664,000 people named Scott are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 181,000 people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Scotts or Troys in the classroom?
- Scott will almost certainly be the only one in school. Troy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Scott, Troy and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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