Troy
Masculine
Troy is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 216,308 boys against 2,674 girls since 1880. See Troy as a girl 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 was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Troy alive today was born around 1972, making them about 53 years old. About 181,000 people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Troy most popular?
Troy peaked in 1967, reaching #40 nationally. Today it ranks #532, 492 places below that high. See the whole 1967 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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19698,098 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #40reached in 1967
- Change vs 2022
- −13.4%563 in 2025, from 650
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
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Troys among us
people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,034 born in 2025 was named Troy
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 Alan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Troy's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Alan climbed just as high around 1951, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Alan's path sketches the road Troy is walking now.
Troy 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
Where Troy is headed
Troy should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Troy beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Troy in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Troy to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Troy
Masculine · #532 in the U.S.
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 181,000 people named Troy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Troy in 2025?
- Troy ranks #532 among US boy names in 2025, with 563 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Troy?
- About 1 in every 3,034 US boys born in 2025 was named Troy — 563 in all.
- Will my child share the name Troy with classmates?
- Troy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Troy
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rio#532 · Tyson#531 · Scott#534 · Ridge#529 · Kendrick#535 · Azriel#529 · Bruce#536 · Eiden#536
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Troy? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Troy and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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