Trae
An English masculine name derived from the word "tray".
Name Census estimates that about 4,057 living Americans carry the first name Trae. It is a predominantly male name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Trae today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trae births was 1993 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trae. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Trae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.1K
~ 1 in 84,485 Americans
Peak year
1993
211 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,495
Tracked since 1964
Census
Trae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,493 people with the first name Trae, which placed it at #5,044 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
#5,044
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,493 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trae is White at 53.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (12.4%). 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 Trae 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 Trae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.7% · 1,875
- Black or African American20.8% · 728
- Two or more races12.4% · 434
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 354
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 34
Gender
Gender distribution for Trae
Trae leans heavily male at 98.9% of total registrations, but 46 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Trae as a male name
- Ranked #2,495 in 2024
- 55 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (201 births)
Trae as a female name
- Ranked #12,609 in 1999
- 7 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1993 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Trae leans strongly male. 3,368 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 126 female bearers (3.6%).
Popularity
Trae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trae from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,420 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trae 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 Trae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Traes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Florida recorded the most babies named Trae, while Mississippi, Massachusetts, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Trae
The name Trae has its origins in the English language and is believed to have emerged as a variation of the name Troy. The name Troy itself is derived from the Ancient Greek name Τροία (Troia), which was the name of the famous city of Troy in ancient Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).
The name Trae likely emerged as a shortened or diminutive form of Troy, with the initial "T" sound being retained and the latter part being abbreviated. This transition from Troy to Trae occurred during the Middle English period, which spanned from the late 11th to the late 15th century.
While the name Trae does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the name Troy links it to the rich mythological and literary traditions surrounding the Trojan War. The Iliad, the epic poem attributed to Homer, is one of the earliest and most renowned works that recounts the legendary siege of Troy by the Greeks.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Trae was Trae Byers, an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 16th century. He is known for his plays "The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt" and "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia."
Another notable figure with the name Trae was Trae Welch, an American astronomer who lived from 1845 to 1919. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial bodies and was the co-discoverer of the Comet Welch-Winnecke in 1858.
In the realm of sports, Trae Young, an American professional basketball player born in 1998, is a prominent figure. He currently plays for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and has been selected as an NBA All-Star multiple times.
Trae Beavers, an American singer-songwriter born in 1983, is known for his work in the country music genre. He has released several albums and has contributed as a songwriter for various artists.
Trae Fionne, born in 1987, is a British-born American actress and model. She has appeared in several television shows and films, including "The Parkers" and "The Game."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Trae, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and cultures.
People
Trae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trae 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
Trae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,057 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trae 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 84,485 US residents.
Is Trae a common name?
We classify Trae as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,143 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trae most popular?
The single biggest year for Trae was 1993, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trae is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Trae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,493 people with the name Trae, or 1.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,044 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 Trae 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 Trae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Trae leans strongly male. 3,368 people counted with this name were male (96.4%), compared with 126 female bearers (3.6%). 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 Trae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trae is White at 53.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (12.4%). 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 Trae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Trae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.7% (1,875 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 Trae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Trae a male name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Trae in the SSA data are male. 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 Trae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Trae 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 Trae 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 Trae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.