Patsy
Feminine · “noble”
Patsy is given to both — 119,448 girls and 7,713 boys since 1880. See Patsy as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Patsy is a pet form that changed sex on its way across the Atlantic. In Ireland it belongs to boys, as the familiar form of Patrick; in America it went to girls, as the familiar form of Patricia.
How old is the name Patsy?
Patsy was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Patsy alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 64,000 people named Patsy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Patsy most popular?
Patsy peaked in 1936, reaching #52 nationally. Today it ranks #5917, 5,865 places below that high. See the whole 1936 chart.
Patsy appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From patricius to Patsy
The story of Patsy
Patricia was rare in English until the twentieth century, when it rose very fast and carried its short forms with it — Pat, Patty, Patsy, Tricia. In Ireland, meanwhile, Patsy had long been the ordinary familiar form of Patrick and stayed masculine, which is why the name reads male in Dublin and female in Nashville. The American peak came in the 1930s, and the name has been rare since, partly because the word patsy acquired an unhelpful second life in American slang.
Meaning
noble, patrician
Through Patricia, from the Latin patricius, 'nobleman' — a member of the patrician class of Rome, as distinct from the plebeians. Patrick is the masculine of exactly the same word, which is why one pet form could serve both.
How the name formed
- patricius
- Patricia
- Patsy
Related forms: Pádraigín · Patricia · Patrizia
Pronouncing Patsy
PAT-see
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said the same way in Irish and American use, whichever sex it is given to.
Nicknames for Patsy
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19424,559 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #52reached in 1936
- Change vs 2022
- +17.6%20 in 2025, from 17
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.
Patsy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Pádraigín in Irish — related form
- Patricia in Spanish — related form
- Patrizia in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Patsys among us
people named Patsy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was named Patsy
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Anne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Patsy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Anne climbed just as high around 1915, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Anne's path sketches the road Patsy is walking now.
Patsy sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Patsy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Patsy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Patricia and Patrick both stand behind it, so the name works in either direction.
- Short, quick and easy to call across a room.
- It carries a genuinely unusual Irish-American double history.
- In American slang a patsy is someone set up to take the blame, and the word is still in ordinary use.
- The name reads masculine in Ireland and feminine in America, which can surprise people either way.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Patsy
Feminine · #5917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Patsys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 64,000 people named Patsy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Patsy in 2025?
- Patsy ranks #5917 among US girl names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Patsy?
- About 1 in every 80,363 US girls born in 2025 was named Patsy — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Patsy with classmates?
- Patsy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Patsy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Saloma#5917 · Fawn#5917 · Sarafina#5917 · Jaymie#5917 · Jania#5917 · Kimberlynn#5917 · Klarissa#5917 · Elda#5917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Patsy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Patsy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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