girl's name
Patsy
PAT-see
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 127,622
Northern Ireland
#514
2022 births
Patsy serves both Patricia and Patrick, and it is 94 percent female in our records — the male use survives mainly in Ireland, where Patsy is still an ordinary man's name rather than a woman's name at all.
- Patsy is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1941, when 4,868 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 165,782 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Patsy over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 198 |
| 1890s | 250 |
| 1900s | 556 |
| 1910s | 3,051 |
| 1920s | 11,123 |
| 1930s | 37,893 |
| 1940s | 40,905 |
| 1950s | 22,091 |
| 1960s | 7,152 |
| 1970s | 1,830 |
| 1980s | 895 |
| 1990s | 701 |
| 2000s | 257 |
| 2010s | 150 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 109 |
What Patsy means
Patsy means a patrician, or a nobleman, carried from Patrick and Patricia alike. The Latin describes membership of Rome's founding families rather than any personal quality of the person bearing it.
Where Patsy comes from
Patsy is a pet form of both Patrick and Patricia, from the Latin patricius — a patrician, a member of the families claiming descent from the original Roman senate, built on pater, a father. Saint Patrick carried the name as a Roman Briton before his capture. The English sense of a patsy, meaning a dupe, is of uncertain origin and may not be the name at all; one proposal traces it to the Italian pazzo, a fool. The Irish male use kept the name in circulation long after English-speaking countries made it female.
Patsy in use
Patsy peaked in the United States in 1941, when 4,868 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in two of the seven markets we track — 1579th in England and Wales on 20 births and 6109th in the United States on 20 — across 127,622 lifetime births. About 94 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Patsy?
In 2025, Patsy was given to 20 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Patsy is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Patsy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Patsy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Patsy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Patsy in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Patsy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Patsy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Patsy
What does the name Patsy mean?
A patrician — a member of Rome's founding families, from pater, a father.
Is Patsy a boys' name?
In Ireland it remains an ordinary men's name. About 94 percent of the births in our records are female.
Is the word patsy from the name?
Uncertain. One proposal traces it to the Italian pazzo, a fool, rather than to the name.
How popular is Patsy?
1579th in England and Wales, and our data marks it stable.
How many syllables are in Patsy?
Patsy has 2 syllables.
Is Patsy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Patsy currently ranks #1,579 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.