Trajan
Masculine
Trajan is the name of a Roman emperor, and it is also, indirectly, the reason the capital letters on this page look the way they do. The inscription at the base of his column in Rome has been the model for Latin capitals for two thousand years.
How old is the name Trajan?
Trajan first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Trajan alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 800 people named Trajan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Trajan most popular?
Trajan peaked in 1999, reaching #996 nationally. See the whole 1999 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Trajan
The column stands in Rome with a spiral band of carving running up it, showing an army on campaign in remarkable detail: pontoon bridges, field surgery, fortifications, men carrying their own kit. It is the single best visual source for how the Roman army actually worked. But the part that has had the widest influence is at the bottom. The dedication is cut in letters so well proportioned that typographers have been copying them ever since; the Renaissance measured them, the nineteenth century engraved them, and a modern typeface named after the column is used on film posters and memorials constantly. The emperor got an empire at its largest extent. He also got the alphabet.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Roman family name behind it is of uncertain origin and may not be Latin. Whether an American Trajan is named for the emperor or was assembled from the sounds is not recorded, and the record gives no help.
Pronouncing Trajan
TRAY-jun
Two syllables with the stress in front. In Romanian and Italian the name has three syllables and the j is said as a y.
Nicknames for Trajan
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
- 1994
- Most boys named
- 1999141 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #996reached in 1999
- Change vs 2023
- +10.0%11 in 2024, from 10
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.
Trajan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Traian in Romanian — same name
- Traiano in Italian — same name
Trajans among us
people named Trajan 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
Trajan 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 read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- It carries a documented ancient history that a child can go and look at in photographs.
- It is short, strong and genuinely rare in American records.
- It sits close to Trayvon and Trey in sound, so it will be misheard as either.
- The emperor's record includes a very large war of conquest, which is the ordinary difficulty with Roman names.
- No origin is documented for the American first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled to answer with.
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Trajan
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Trajans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Trajan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Trajan in 2025?
- Trajan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Trajan with classmates?
- Trajan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Thomas#34 · Timothy#203 · Tyler#219 · Terry#1115 · Theodore#4 · Travis#434 · Todd#1609 · Tony#783
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Trajan? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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