Tootsie
A diminutive form of the name Matilda or Mechtild, of Germanic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Tootsie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tootsie today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tootsie births was 1930 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tootsie. 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 Tootsie is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Tootsies were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tootsie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1930
7 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1959 SSA rank
#7,134
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Tootsie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tootsie from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 27 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tootsie 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 Tootsie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tootsie
The name Tootsie is believed to have originated as a diminutive or pet form of the name Tootie, which itself is a nickname for the name Dorothy. Dorothy is derived from the Greek name Dorothea, which means "gift of God" and is composed of the elements "doron" meaning gift and "theos" meaning God.
The name Tootsie likely emerged as a playful variation of Tootie in the late 19th or early 20th century, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking regions. It was often used as a affectionate nickname for young girls named Dorothy or variants of that name.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Tootsie can be found in the 1922 musical comedy "Tootsies and Tamales," which featured a character named Tootsie. This suggests that the name was already in use as a diminutive form by the early 20th century.
Tootsie also gained widespread recognition as the name of the popular Tootsie Roll candy, first introduced in 1896 by the Stern & Saalheimer candy company in New York. The candy's name is thought to have been inspired by a real person, though the exact origin is unclear.
One notable historical figure with the name Tootsie was Tootsie the Mystic (born Tootsie McLoud, 1891-1972), an American vaudeville performer and self-proclaimed psychic. She gained fame in the early 20th century for her mind-reading act and claimed to have supernatural abilities.
Another person of note was Tootsie Bell (born Tootsie Olson, 1889-1962), an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several films in the 1930s and 1940s, including the movie "The Bride Wore Crutches" (1940).
In the literary world, Tootsie Burt (1903-1962) was an American writer and journalist who published several novels and short stories in the mid-20th century, including the novel "The Timberman" (1955).
Tootsie Taylor (1904-1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist who recorded in the 1920s and 1930s and was known for her distinctive style and storytelling in her songs.
Finally, Tootsie Ina (born Esther Ina Davis, 1906-1997) was an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films in the 1920s and 1930s, including the 1933 film "Dancing Lady" starring Fred Astaire and Joan Crawford.
People
Tootsie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tootsie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tootsie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tootsie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tootsie 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Tootsie a common name?
We classify Tootsie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tootsie most popular?
The single biggest year for Tootsie was 1930, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tootsie is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tootsie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tootsie 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.
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.