Pat
Feminine · “noble”
Pat is given to both — 40,123 girls and 26,732 boys since 1880. See Pat as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Pat is the most thoroughly unisex name in English. It serves Patricia and Patrick equally, and since both come from the same Latin word, the two are not merely similar — they are the same name in different genders.
How old is the name Pat?
Pat first appears in US birth records in 1897 — 128 years ago. The typical Pat alive today was born around 1941, making them about 84 years old. About 21,000 people named Pat are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pat most popular?
Pat peaked in 1940, reaching #134 nationally. See the whole 1940 chart.
Where it comes from
From patricius to Pat
The story of Pat
Patrick reached Ireland with a fifth-century Romano-British missionary and became the country's national name, though for centuries it was considered too sacred for ordinary use there. Patricia was rare in English until the twentieth century, when it rose very fast. Pat rose with both, and American families registered it as a legal name for daughters through the 1930s and 1940s, peaking in the mid-1930s, while it continued in masculine use throughout.
Meaning
noble, patrician
From the Latin patricius, 'nobleman' — a member of the patrician order of Rome, the class defined against the plebeians. Patricia is the feminine and Patrick the masculine of that single word, so the short form genuinely belongs to both.
How the name formed
- patricius
- Patricia
- Pat
Related forms: Pádraigín · Patricia · Patrizia
Pronouncing Pat
PAT
One syllable. Said identically for either sex and in every English accent.
Nicknames for Pat
Moderate
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
- 1897
- Most girls named
- 19411,900 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #134reached in 1940
- Change vs 1987
- 0.0%6 in 1991, from 6
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.
Pat in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Pádraigín in Irish — related form
- Patricia in Spanish — related form
- Patrizia in Italian — related form
Pats among us
people named Pat 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
Pat has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Patricia and Patrick both stand behind it, so the name works in either direction.
- Three letters, one syllable, and never misheard.
- It is genuinely unisex in a way very few names manage.
- It is an ordinary English noun and verb as well as a name.
- Because it does not signal sex, it is often assumed to be masculine in writing.
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What they receive
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Pat
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Pats are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 21,000 people named Pat are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pat in 2025?
- Pat is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Pat with classmates?
- Pat will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More P names
The most-given names starting with P, all years combined.
Patricia#1334 · Pamela#2239 · Phyllis#11932 · Peggy#8362 · Paula#853 · Pauline#2957 · Pearl#776 · Paige#346
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pat? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pat and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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