Tristam
A masculine name of uncertain etymology, possibly related to "sad" or "melancholy".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Tristam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tristam today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tristam births was 2007 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tristam. 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 Tristam. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2007
5 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2007 SSA rank
#14,240
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Tristam: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tristam 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 Tristam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tristam
The given name Tristam has its origins in the medieval literature of Britain and France, deriving from the Old French form Tristran or the Middle English Tristram. It is believed to have evolved from the Welsh name Drystan, which means "noise" or "tumult." The name gained widespread popularity through the legendary Arthurian romance of Tristan and Iseult, which dates back to the 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tristam can be found in the medieval French poem "Tristan and Iseult" by the poet Béroul, composed around 1190. This tragic love story, which also appears in the works of other medieval writers such as Thomas Malory and Gottfried von Strassburg, has played a significant role in the enduring fame of the name.
Historically, the name Tristam has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing this name was Tristam Nariz, a 13th-century knight from Navarre, Spain, who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors. Another prominent figure was Tristam de Bloomsbury (c. 1305-1375), an English philosopher and theologian who studied at the University of Oxford.
In the 16th century, Tristam Thomas (c. 1530-1594) was a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. During the same period, Tristam Cokain (1559-1628) was an English poet and translator whose works included translations of Italian poetry.
The 17th century saw the rise of Tristam Coffyn (1609-1681), an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Nantucket Island. Another notable figure was Tristam Conyers (1667-1707), an English soldier and Member of Parliament who served under the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession.
These examples illustrate the historical presence of the name Tristam across various cultures and time periods, highlighting its enduring appeal and the diverse backgrounds of those who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Tristam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tristam 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
Tristam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tristam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tristam 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Tristam a common name?
We classify Tristam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tristam most popular?
The single biggest year for Tristam was 2007, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tristam is about 19 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 Tristam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tristam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tristam 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 Tristam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tristam 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 Tristam 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 common is the name Tristam?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.