boy's name
Troy
TROY
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 227,667
the United States
#533
2025 births
Troy is a boy's name with two independent sources — an Irish surname meaning foot soldier, and the ancient city. The city route is the one most parents mean, and it reaches English through a French place name rather than directly.
- Troy is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1970, when 8,545 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,889 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Troy 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 | 139 |
| 1890s | 304 |
| 1900s | 652 |
| 1910s | 3,229 |
| 1920s | 5,443 |
| 1930s | 5,509 |
| 1940s | 6,310 |
| 1950s | 7,459 |
| 1960s | 62,231 |
| 1970s | 49,299 |
| 1980s | 24,765 |
| 1990s | 22,991 |
| 2000s | 14,831 |
| 2010s | 11,892 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,928 |
What Troy means
Troy means a foot soldier if taken from the Irish surname. Taken from the city, it carries no meaning of its own — the place name's own origin is lost.
Where Troy comes from
Troy arrives twice. The Irish Ó Troighthigh anglicized to Troy, from troigheach, a foot soldier — literally one who goes on foot. Separately, the city of Troy gave its name to Troyes in France, whose inhabitants were said to descend from Trojan refugees; the surname Troy was given to people from Troyes, and the American use draws on the classical city directly. Troy weight, the system still used for precious metals, is named for Troyes and its medieval fairs, so the ounce a gold price is quoted in traces to the same place name.
Troy in use
Troy peaked in the United States in 1970, when 8,545 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 482nd in Ireland on 7 births, 533rd in the United States on 563, 770th in Scotland and 773rd in England and Wales on 43, across 227,667 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Ireland gives it the strongest position of the four, which suits the surname route rather than the classical one.
How popular is Troy?
In 2025, Troy was given to 563 babies in the United States, ranking #533 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Troy 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 Troy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Troy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Troy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Troy 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Troye
Sibling names for Troy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Troy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Troy
What does the name Troy mean?
A foot soldier, from the Irish Ó Troighthigh — or nothing at all, if taken from the city.
Is Troy named after the ancient city?
Often, though the surname route runs through Troyes in France rather than the city directly.
Is a troy ounce related?
Yes — troy weight is named for the medieval fairs at Troyes, the same place name.
How popular is Troy?
533rd in the United States and 482nd in Ireland.
Is Troy a girl's or a boy's name?
Troy is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Troy?
Troy has 1 syllable.
Is Troy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Troy currently ranks #482 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.