Trudi
A feminine diminutive of the Germanic name Gertrude, meaning "strength" or "spear."
Name Census estimates that about 2,448 living Americans carry the first name Trudi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Trudi today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trudi births was 1965 (140 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trudi. 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
2.4K
~ 1 in 140,014 Americans
Peak year
1965
140 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2022 SSA rank
#17,536
Tracked since 1938
Popularity
Trudi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trudi from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trudi 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 Trudi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Trudis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Trudi, while Montana, Louisiana, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Trudi
The name Trudi is a diminutive form of the German name Gertrude, which is derived from the Old German name Geratrudis. This name has its roots in the Germanic words "ger" meaning "spear" and "trud" meaning "strength." It emerged around the 8th century and was initially popular among the Germanic tribes of central Europe.
The name Gertrude gained popularity across Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Germanic cultural influences. It was often associated with holy women and religious figures, as Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, a 7th-century Benedictine nun, was widely revered.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Trudi is found in the 12th-century German epic poem "Das Nibelungenlied," where a character named Trudi appears as a minor figure. In the 16th century, the name was used by the German theologian and Reformer Trudi Rauchbild, who was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation.
During the Renaissance period, the name Trudi gained further recognition when the Italian Renaissance painter Trudi Gentilleschi (1597-1651) achieved fame for her artistic talents and her role in advancing the acceptance of women artists in the 17th century.
In the 19th century, the name was borne by the German writer and activist Trudi Lewald (1812-1888), who was a pioneer in the women's rights movement and advocated for improved education and legal rights for women in Germany.
Another notable figure who carried the name Trudi was the Austrian-American actress Trudi Klein (1913-1976), who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career in the mid-20th century.
The name Trudi has also been associated with several literary figures, including the German author Trudi Hermannová (1900-1958), who wrote extensively about her experiences during World War II and the Holocaust.
People
Trudi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trudi 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
Trudi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trudi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,448 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trudi 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 140,014 US residents.
Is Trudi a common name?
We classify Trudi as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,215 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trudi most popular?
The single biggest year for Trudi was 1965, when 140 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trudi is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Trudi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Trudi 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.
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.