Duffy
Masculine
Duffy is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 627 boys against 16 girls since 1880.
Duffy is an Irish surname meaning 'dark', used as a boy's first name in America. It has a whole corner of Times Square named for a chaplain, and a famous radio show named for a man who never once showed up.
How old is the name Duffy?
Duffy first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Duffy alive today was born around 1961, making them about 64 years old. About 400 people named Duffy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Duffy most popular?
Duffy peaked in 1969, reaching #1767 nationally. See the whole 1969 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ó Dubhthaigh to Duffy
The story of Duffy
Father Francis P. Duffy, a Canadian-born priest, served as chaplain to New York's 'Fighting Sixty-Ninth' in the First World War and became one of the most decorated clergymen in the army; the northern triangle of Times Square is named Duffy Square after him, with his statue in front of a Celtic cross. From 1941 to 1951 millions of Americans listened to Duffy's Tavern, a radio comedy set in a bar 'where the elite meet to eat'; its joke was that Duffy, the owner, only ever phoned in and was never heard. Duffy as a first name is recorded almost entirely for boys.
Meaning
From the Irish surname Ó Dubhthaigh, 'dark'
The surname is built on Irish dubh, 'dark, black'.
How the name formed
- Ó Dubhthaigh
- Duffy
Related forms: Ó Dubhthaigh · MacDhuibh
Pronouncing Duffy
DUF-ee
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Duffy
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 196922 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1767reached in 1969
- Change vs 1998
- 0.0%5 in 2012, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Duffy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Dubhthaigh in Irish — related form
- MacDhuibh in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Duffys among us
people named Duffy are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Duffy sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A clear Irish meaning.
- Friendly and easy to say.
- Rare as a first name.
- As a surname-first name it will sometimes be taken for a last name.
- 'Duff' is slang for bad or useless in some places.
- A girl given it would be very unusual in the record.
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Duffy
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Duffys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Duffy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Duffy in 2025?
- Duffy is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Duffy with classmates?
- Duffy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Duffy? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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