Tragen
A masculine name of German origin meaning "to carry or bear".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Tragen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tragen today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tragen births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tragen. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tragen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,879
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Tragen: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tragen 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 Tragen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 15 | 0 | 15 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tragen
The given name Tragen is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "trag," which means "to carry" or "to bear." This name has its roots in the ancient Germanic language family, which can be traced back to the first few centuries AD.
Tragen was a relatively common name among the Germanic tribes of central Europe during the Middle Ages. It was often given to male children with the hope that they would grow up to be strong and capable individuals, able to bear the responsibilities and burdens of life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tragen can be found in the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem from the 13th century. The poem mentions a character named Tragen, who was a loyal knight in the service of the legendary king Gunther.
In the 14th century, a Benedictine monk named Tragen von Würzburg gained fame for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He was born in 1320 and died in 1392, leaving behind a rich literary legacy.
The name Tragen also appears in the historical records of the Holy Roman Empire. Tragen von Habsburg, born in 1458, was a prominent nobleman and military leader who fought in the Austro-Burgundian Wars against the French.
During the Renaissance period, a German artist named Tragen Holbein the Elder (1460-1524) made significant contributions to the world of art, particularly through his religious paintings and portraits.
Another notable figure was Tragen von Rothenburg (1492-1567), a German humanist and reformer who played a crucial role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and helped to spread the ideas of the Reformation throughout Germany.
In the 18th century, Tragen von Goethe (1749-1832) emerged as one of the most influential literary figures of the time. He was a German writer, poet, and philosopher, and his works, such as "Faust" and "The Sorrows of Young Werther," have had a lasting impact on the literary world.
These are just a few examples of prominent individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tragen, reflecting its deep roots in German culture and its enduring presence across various fields and eras.
People
Tragen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tragen 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
Tragen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tragen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tragen 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Tragen a common name?
We classify Tragen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tragen most popular?
The single biggest year for Tragen was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tragen is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Tragen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tragen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tragen 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 Tragen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tragen 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 Tragen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Tragen?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Tragen, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.