girl's name
Patty
PAT-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 62,839
Patty belonged to Martha before it belonged to Patricia — the pet form was reassigned in the twentieth century, one of several nicknames in English that quietly changed parents. Molly and Peggy changed parents by the same route.
- Patty is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 3,123 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 663,130 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Patty 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 | 27 |
| 1890s | 32 |
| 1900s | 82 |
| 1910s | 357 |
| 1920s | 2,809 |
| 1930s | 9,691 |
| 1940s | 11,476 |
| 1950s | 16,133 |
| 1960s | 17,548 |
| 1970s | 3,062 |
| 1980s | 893 |
| 1990s | 351 |
| 2000s | 157 |
| 2010s | 63 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 18 |
What Patty means
Patty means noblewoman as a short form of Patricia, from the Latin patricius. Its older use was as a pet form of Martha, which is Aramaic and unrelated.
Where Patty comes from
Patty now shortens Patricia, from the Latin patricius — of the patrician class, the hereditary Roman aristocracy, built on pater, a father. Before that it was a standard pet form of Martha, by the same route that turns Mary into Molly and Margaret into Peggy, where an initial consonant shifts. Patricia itself was rare before the twentieth century, and Patty transferred to it as the older name faded.
Patty in use
Patty peaked in the United States in 1959, when 3,123 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 16459th in the United States on 5 births, across 62,839 lifetime births. That is a fall from 3,123 to 5 in sixty-six years, one of the steeper declines in our records.
How popular is Patty?
In 2025, Patty was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Patty 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 Patty
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Patty also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Patty over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Patty 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 Patty
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Patty — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Patty
What does the name Patty mean?
Noblewoman, through Patricia and the Latin patricius.
Was Patty ever short for Martha?
Yes — it was a standard pet form of Martha before transferring to Patricia.
How do nicknames shift like that?
The same consonant shift gives Molly from Mary and Peggy from Margaret.
How popular is Patty?
16459th in the United States — a fall from 3,123 births in 1959 to 5.
Is Patty a girl's or a boy's name?
Patty is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Patty?
Patty has 2 syllables.
Is Patty a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Patty currently ranks #16,459 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.