boy's name
Ty
TY
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 2
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 54,004
the United States
#811
2025 births
Ty has no source of its own — it shortens Tyler, Tyrone and Tyson, three names with nothing in common, so which one a given Ty belongs to cannot be read off the name.
- Ty is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2005, when 2,475 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 10,660 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1915.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ty 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 | 27 |
| 1920s | 13 |
| 1930s | 24 |
| 1940s | 135 |
| 1950s | 699 |
| 1960s | 3,633 |
| 1970s | 3,902 |
| 1980s | 3,752 |
| 1990s | 9,450 |
| 2000s | 17,321 |
| 2010s | 7,286 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,102 |
What Ty means
Ty has no meaning of its own. It is a short form serving several unrelated names, so any sense attached to it depends entirely on which fuller name lies behind it.
Where Ty comes from
Ty shortens at least three unrelated names. Tyler is an occupational surname for a roof-tiler, from the Latin tegula. Tyrone is the Irish Tír Eoghain, the land of Eoghan. Tyson is a Norman byname from tison, a firebrand, applied to a hot-tempered man. The Welsh tŷ, a house, is sometimes offered as a source but has no real connection to English-language use of the name.
Ty in use
Ty peaked in the United States in 2005, when 2,475 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 811th in the United States on 311 births and 4884th in England and Wales on 4, across 54,004 lifetime births in three of the seven markets we track. England and Wales ran its own peak of 153 births in 2005, the same year as the American one.
How popular is Ty?
In 2025, Ty was given to 311 babies in the United States, ranking #811 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ty 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 Ty
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ty also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ty over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ty 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 Ty
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ty — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ty
What does the name Ty mean?
Nothing on its own. It shortens Tyler, Tyrone and Tyson, which are unrelated.
Does it mean house in Welsh?
The Welsh tŷ does, but it has no real connection to English-language use of the name.
What does Tyler mean?
A roof-tiler — an occupational surname.
How popular is Ty?
811th in the United States, down from a 2005 peak of 2,475 births.
Is Ty a girl's or a boy's name?
Ty is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ty?
Ty has 1 syllable.
Is Ty a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ty currently ranks #811 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.