Trellis
A structure with openings for vines or plants to grow through.
Name Census estimates that about 297 living Americans carry the first name Trellis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Trellis today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trellis births was 1971 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trellis. 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.
People living today
297
~ 1 in 1,154,055 Americans
Peak year
1971
15 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,180
Tracked since 1909
Census
Trellis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 431 people with the first name Trellis, which placed it at #22,918 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
#22,918
National first-name rank
People counted
431
431 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trellis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trellis is Black at 68.9%. The next largest groups are White (26.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Trellis 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 Trellis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.9% · 297
- White26.2% · 113
- Two or more races3.2% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Trellis
Trellis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 447 total registrations, 103 (23.0%) were male and 344 (77.0%) were female.
Trellis as a male name
- Ranked #10,425 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1980 (14 births)
Trellis as a female name
- Ranked #9,180 in 1982
- 7 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1971 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Trellis on both sides of the split. Of the 433 people counted with this name, 151 were male (34.9%) and 282 were female (65.1%).
Popularity
Trellis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trellis from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trellis 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 Trellis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Trellis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Trellis
The name Trellis has its origins in the Latin word "trichila," which means "small bower or arbor." This term was derived from the Greek word "trikhos," meaning "woven with three strands." The word "trellis" itself entered the English language around the 16th century, initially referring to an architectural structure of interwoven branches or pieces of wood used to support plants or vines.
Historically, the name Trellis has been relatively uncommon as a given name, with few recorded instances throughout history. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Trellis Atherton, a 17th-century English botanist and horticulturist who was renowned for his work on creating intricate trellis designs for gardens.
In the 18th century, Trellis Greenleaf was a notable American author and poet from Boston, known for her romantic poetry and nature-inspired works. She lived from 1728 to 1804 and is considered one of the earliest female writers in the American literary tradition.
During the 19th century, Trellis Jameson was a British explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively throughout Africa and the Middle East. Born in 1815 and died in 1892, he made significant contributions to the field of botany and was responsible for introducing several plant species to Europe.
In the early 20th century, Trellis Fairbanks was an American artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her avant-garde metal sculptures and installations. She lived from 1901 to 1987 and is celebrated for her innovative use of materials and her ability to capture organic forms in her artwork.
More recently, Trellis Montgomery was a Canadian environmentalist and activist who dedicated her life to preserving natural habitats and promoting sustainable living practices. Born in 1942, she played a pivotal role in establishing several national parks and nature reserves throughout Canada.
While the name Trellis has had a relatively limited usage as a given name throughout history, its connection to nature, architecture, and creative pursuits has given it a unique and distinctive character. The individuals mentioned above represent a diverse range of fields and time periods, illustrating the enduring appeal and versatility of this name.
People
Trellis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trellis 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
Trellis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trellis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 297 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trellis 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 1,154,055 US residents.
Is Trellis a common name?
We classify Trellis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 447 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trellis most popular?
The single biggest year for Trellis was 1971, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trellis is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Trellis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 431 people with the name Trellis, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,918 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 Trellis 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 Trellis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Trellis on both sides of the split. Of the 433 people counted with this name, 151 were male (34.9%) and 282 were female (65.1%). 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 Trellis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trellis is Black at 68.9%. The next largest groups are White (26.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Trellis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Trellis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (297 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 Trellis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Trellis a female name?
Yes, 77.0% of people registered as Trellis 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 Trellis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Trellis 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 Trellis 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 Americans are named Trellis?
Want to know how many Americans are named Trellis? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.