Trestan
An invented baby name, potentially derived from the French city of Tristan.
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the first name Trestan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Trestan today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trestan births was 1995 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trestan. 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
127
~ 1 in 2,698,853 Americans
Peak year
1995
11 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,875
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Trestan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trestan from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 61 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trestan 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 Trestan 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 Trestan
The name Trestan has its origins in the ancient Celtic and Brittonic languages spoken in parts of what is now modern-day Britain and France. It is derived from the Proto-Celtic root *tris, meaning "brave" or "valiant," and the suffix *-stan, which likely indicated a person's occupation or status.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Gododdin, a medieval Welsh poem that chronicles the Battle of Catraeth (modern-day Catterick in Yorkshire, England) around 600 AD. The poem mentions a warrior named Trestan ap Fergus, who is praised for his bravery and valor in battle.
In the 9th century, the name appears in the Annales Cambriae, a chronicle of medieval Welsh history, where it is recorded that a certain "Trestan filius Gurgant" (Trestan, son of Gurgant) was killed in a battle against the Saxons in 867 AD.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Trestan gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy of Wales and Brittany. One notable figure was Trestan ab Owain (c. 1170-1230), a Welsh prince and lord of Nannau in Gwynedd, who is mentioned in the Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes) for his involvement in various conflicts and power struggles.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh prose tales. One of the stories, "Geraint and Enid," features a character named Trestan, who is described as a valiant knight and companion of the protagonist Geraint.
Another prominent figure was Trestan de Lanvaux (c. 1280-1340), a Breton knight and military commander who served under the French king Philip VI during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War. He is mentioned in contemporary chronicles for his participation in the Battle of Sluys in 1340.
In the 15th century, the name was borne by Trestan de la Pommeraie (c. 1420-1490), a French nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War. He is recorded in several chronicles and historical accounts for his bravery and loyalty to the French crown.
People
Trestan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trestan 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
Trestan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trestan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 127 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trestan 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 2,698,853 US residents.
Is Trestan a common name?
We classify Trestan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trestan most popular?
The single biggest year for Trestan was 1995, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trestan is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Trestan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Trestan 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.
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.