Trooper
Referring to a cavalryman or mounted soldier serving in a state militia.
Name Census estimates that about 152 living Americans carry the first name Trooper. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Trooper today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trooper births was 2015 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trooper. 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
152
~ 1 in 2,254,963 Americans
Peak year
2015
16 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,784
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Trooper: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trooper 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 93 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Trooper remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trooper 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 Trooper 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 Trooper
The name Trooper is an English occupational surname that originated in the late 16th century, derived from the word "troop," meaning a group of soldiers or cavalry. It was initially used to refer to professional soldiers or cavalrymen, particularly those serving in the cavalry regiments of the British Army.
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), the term "trooper" became particularly associated with the Parliamentarian cavalry forces, who played a crucial role in the conflict against the Royalists. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Trooper" as a given name can be found in the baptismal records of St. James Church, Clerkenwell, London, in 1648, where a child was christened "Trooper" during the turbulent years of the English Civil War.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Trooper gained popularity as a given name, particularly among families with military connections or those who admired the bravery and valor associated with the cavalry. One notable bearer of the name was Trooper George Farmer (c. 1804-1892), a British soldier who served in the Crimean War and was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor in the British Empire, for his acts of gallantry during the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
Another prominent figure with the name Trooper was Trooper John Pearson (1825-1862), a member of the United States Army's 1st Dragoon Regiment, who gained fame for his role in the Utah War of 1857-1858, a conflict between the United States and the Mormon settlers in Utah Territory. Pearson's bravery and actions during the conflict became the subject of several historical accounts and folklore.
In the 20th century, the name Trooper continued to be used, though less frequently than in earlier periods. One notable bearer was Trooper Ian Jones (1969-2005), a British soldier who served in the Territorial Army and was killed in action during the Iraq War in 2005. His name was added to the Basra Memorial Wall, honoring those who lost their lives in the conflict.
Despite its military origins, the name Trooper has also been adopted by individuals with no direct connection to the armed forces, perhaps attracted by the connotations of strength, courage, and resilience associated with the name. Overall, the name Trooper represents a rich historical legacy, reflecting the valor and sacrifice of soldiers throughout the centuries.
People
Trooper + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trooper 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
Trooper: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trooper?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 152 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trooper 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 2,254,963 US residents.
Is Trooper a common name?
We classify Trooper as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 153 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trooper most popular?
The single biggest year for Trooper was 2015, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trooper is about 11 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 Trooper in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Trooper a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Trooper 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 Trooper still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Trooper 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 Trooper 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 Trooper?
See how many people have the name Trooper on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.