Troy
Feminine
Troy is given to boys far more often — 216,308 boys against 2,674 girls since 1880. See Troy as a boy name
Troy was a real city, and the man who dug it up destroyed most of what he was looking for. Heinrich Schliemann drove a trench straight through the mound in the eighteen-seventies, cut past the layer that was actually Homeric, and threw the material aside — which is why archaeologists still speak of him through their teeth.
How old is the name Troy?
Troy first appears in US birth records in 1896 — 129 years ago. The typical Troy alive today was born around 1964, making them about 61 years old. About 2,100 people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Troy most popular?
Troy peaked in 1961, reaching #993 nationally. See the whole 1961 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Troy
The mound at Hisarlik in Turkey has nine cities stacked on it, and the one Schliemann called Homer's was a thousand years too early. Later excavation sorted it out, and there is a level with burnt destruction at about the right date, though whether any of the poem happened is a separate question. Meanwhile the name reached English by two other roads entirely: an Irish surname anglicized from a word about a foot-soldier, and a French town called Troyes that gave English the troy ounce still used to weigh gold. Most American Troys descend from none of the three and simply liked the sound.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The city's name has no recoverable meaning; it is older than the languages that would explain it. As an English name it can equally come from an Irish surname or a French place, and the record does not distinguish.
Pronouncing Troy
TROY
One syllable, rhyming with boy. Said the same way everywhere English is spoken.
Nicknames for Troy
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
- 1896
- Most girls named
- 1961119 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #993reached in 1961
- Change vs 2021
- +14.3%8 in 2023, from 7
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.
Troy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- O Troighthigh in Irish — related form
Troys among us
people named Troy 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
Troy 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
- One syllable and four letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century.
- The city it names is famous for being destroyed, which some families think about and others do not.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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What they receive
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Troy
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Troys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Troy in 2025?
- Troy is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Troy with classmates?
- Troy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Troy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Troy and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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