Macy
Masculine · “from a French place-name”
Macy is given to girls far more often — 32,749 girls against 555 boys since 1880. See Macy as a girl name
Macy is a Norman surname that became a girl's name, bright and quick, with two syllables and a long a. For many Americans it is first the name of a department store with a red star and a parade.
How old is the name Macy?
Macy first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Macy alive today was born around 1961, making them about 64 years old. About 300 people named Macy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Macy most popular?
Macy peaked in 1895, reaching #1079 nationally. See the whole 1895 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Maccius to Macy
The story of Macy
Rowland Hussey Macy went to sea on a Nantucket whaler as a young man, and the company says the red star of its logo came from a tattoo he got then. After several failed stores he opened one in New York that grew into the largest in the world. His store's first Thanksgiving parade borrowed animals from the Central Park Zoo before it switched to giant balloons. As a first name, Macy has gone almost entirely to girls, with a very few boys.
Meaningscholars disagree
from a French place-name, the estate of Maccius
Macy is usually traced to Massy or Macey, French place-names from the Latin personal name Maccius. Other origins for the surname have been suggested.
How the name formed
- Maccius
- Massy
- Macy
Related forms: Massy
Pronouncing Macy
MAY-see
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Macy
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
- 1895
- Most boys named
- 197114 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1079reached in 1895
- Change vs 2004
- −64.3%5 in 2009, from 14
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.
Macy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Massy in French — related form
Macys among us
people named Macy 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
Macy 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
- It is bright, friendly and easy to spell.
- It is familiar without being among the most common names.
- Nearly everyone will think of the department store and its parade.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name everywhere.
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What they receive
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Macy
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Macys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Macy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Macy in 2025?
- Macy is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Macy with classmates?
- Macy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Macy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Macy and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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