boy's name
Trenton
TREN-tun
- Origin American
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 60,037
Trenton means Trent's town, and the Trent is a man rather than the English river — William Trent bought the land in 1714, and the New Jersey city was named for him, not for the water.
- Trenton is a name of American origin.
- Peaked in 2007, when 2,335 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 15,565 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Trenton over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 47 |
| 1920s | 102 |
| 1930s | 99 |
| 1940s | 143 |
| 1950s | 214 |
| 1960s | 931 |
| 1970s | 2,691 |
| 1980s | 5,900 |
| 1990s | 14,709 |
| 2000s | 20,936 |
| 2010s | 10,917 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,946 |
What Trenton means
Trenton means the town of Trent. It records a landowner's surname attached to a settlement, so it names a person's claim rather than a feature of the ground.
Where Trenton comes from
Trenton is a New Jersey place name, from William Trent, a Philadelphia merchant who acquired the land in 1714 — Trent's Town, worn to Trenton. His surname is separately from the English River Trent, whose own name is old and generally read as trespasser or one that floods, describing a river that regularly overran its banks. So the personal name and the river name meet only at a distance. Trenton entered use as a given name in the American twentieth century.
Trenton in use
Trenton peaked in the United States in 2007, when 2,335 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 1040th in the United States on 213 births, across 60,037 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1913, though almost all of the volume falls after 1980.
How popular is Trenton?
In 2025, Trenton was given to 213 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Trenton 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 Trenton
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Trenton also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Trenton over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Trenton
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Trenton 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 Trenton
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Trenton — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Trenton
What does the name Trenton mean?
Trent's town — named for William Trent, who bought the land in 1714.
Is it named after the River Trent?
No. The city takes a man's surname; the English river's name is separate and much older.
What does the River Trent mean?
Generally read as trespasser, or one that floods — a river that overran its banks.
How popular is Trenton?
1040th in the United States, down from a 2007 peak of 2,335 births.
Is Trenton a girl's or a boy's name?
Trenton is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Trenton?
Trenton has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Trenton?
Trenton is usually shortened to Trent.
Is Trenton a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Trenton currently ranks #1,040 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.