Trew
An English given name of obscure origin, potentially meaning "honest" or "true".
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Trew. It is a predominantly male name (90.5% of registrations). The average person named Trew today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trew births was 2014 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trew. 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
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2014
14 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,779
Tracked since 1997
Census
Trew in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 178 people with the first name Trew, which placed it at #41,266 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
#41,266
National first-name rank
People counted
178
178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trew
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trew is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Trew 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 Trew at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.3% · 118
- Black or African American20.8% · 37
- Two or more races6.7% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Trew
Trew leans heavily male at 90.5% of total registrations, but 16 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Trew as a male name
- Ranked #10,779 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (10 births)
Trew as a female name
- Ranked #19,007 in 2014
- 5 female births in 2014
- Peak: 1999 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Trew on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 132 were male (72.9%) and 49 were female (27.1%).
Popularity
Trew: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trew from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 63 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Trew remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trew 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 Trew 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 Trew
The name Trew is an English variant of the name True, which originated from the Old English word "treowe" meaning loyal, faithful, or trustworthy. The name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture and can be traced back to the 7th century.
Trew was a relatively uncommon name during the Middle Ages, but it did appear in various historical records and documents. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land holdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
In the 12th century, a monk named Trew of Coventry was noted for his exceptional calligraphy skills and his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts. His work helped to preserve valuable historical and religious texts during a time when literacy was limited to the clergy and nobility.
During the Renaissance period, a Scottish physician and philosopher named Trew Geddes (1564-1631) gained recognition for his writings on natural philosophy and his contributions to the early modern scientific revolution. His works were influential in shaping the intellectual discourse of the time.
In the 18th century, an English poet and playwright named Trew Browning (1712-1789) rose to prominence with his satirical plays and verses that commented on the social and political issues of the day. His work was praised for its wit and biting commentary on the aristocracy and the excesses of the upper class.
Trew was also the first name of an American Revolutionary War soldier and patriot, Trew Paine (1737-1819). He served in the Continental Army and was known for his unwavering commitment to the cause of American independence. After the war, he became a prominent figure in local politics and was elected to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates.
While relatively uncommon, the name Trew has left a lasting impression throughout history, with notable individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, including literature, philosophy, science, and politics.
People
Trew + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trew 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
Trew: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trew?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trew 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Trew a common name?
We classify Trew as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trew most popular?
The single biggest year for Trew was 2014, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trew is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Trew in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 178 people with the name Trew, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,266 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 Trew 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 Trew?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Trew on both sides of the split. Of the 181 people counted with this name, 132 were male (72.9%) and 49 were female (27.1%). 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 Trew?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Trew is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Trew most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Trew in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (118 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 Trew in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Trew a male name?
Yes, 90.5% of people registered as Trew 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 Trew still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Trew 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 Trew 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 share the name Trew?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.