Floye
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps derived from the French fleur ("flower").
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Floye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Floye today is around 87 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Floye births was 1922 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Floye. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Floye is about 87 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Floyes were born before 1949.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Floye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1922
36 babies that year
Average age
87
years old
1956 SSA rank
#6,259
Tracked since 1896
Census
Floye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Floye, which placed it at #49,809 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Floye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Floye is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Floye described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Floye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.1% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Popularity
Floye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Floye from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 215 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Floye by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Floye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Floyes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Floye, while Oklahoma, North Carolina, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Floye
The given name Floye has its roots in the French language and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated from the Old French word "floi," which means "to flow" or "to drift." This name likely originated in regions where French was spoken, such as France, parts of Belgium, and certain regions of Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Floye can be found in a 12th-century French manuscript, where it was used to refer to a river or stream that flowed through a particular region. This suggests that the name was initially used as a descriptive term before becoming a personal name.
In the 13th century, there are records of a nobleman named Floye de Montfort, who was born in 1210 in the Duchy of Normandy, France. He was a prominent figure during the Albigensian Crusade and played a significant role in the capture of the city of Carcassonne.
Another notable figure with the name Floye was Floye de Villeneuve, a French poet and troubadour who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was known for his lyrical compositions and his contributions to the development of Occitan literature.
In the 15th century, there was a record of Floye de Merville, a French noblewoman who was born in 1421 in the region of Picardy. She was known for her involvement in the political affairs of the time and her support for the House of Burgundy during the Hundred Years' War.
During the Renaissance period, the name Floye gained some popularity among artists and intellectuals. One notable figure was Floye de Chambord, a French painter and sculptor who lived in the 16th century. He was renowned for his works depicting religious themes and his contributions to the development of the French Renaissance style.
In the 17th century, there was a record of Floye de Lavergne, a French philosopher and writer who was born in 1632 in the city of Lyon. He was known for his works on ethics and his critique of the prevailing philosophical ideas of his time.
While the name Floye has its origins in French culture, it has been used in various parts of Europe and beyond over the centuries. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, particularly in modern times, and its usage has been more prevalent in historical contexts.
People
Floye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Floye as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Floye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Floye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Floye going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Floye a common name?
We classify Floye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 689 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Floye most popular?
The single biggest year for Floye was 1922, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Floye is about 87 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Floye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Floye, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Floye in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Floye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Floye leans strongly female. 112 people counted with this name were female (88.9%), compared with 14 male bearers (11.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Floye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Floye is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Floye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Floye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (117 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Floye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Floye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Floye in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Floye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Floye in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Floye can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Floye?
Find out how many people share the name Floye on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.