Trudy
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a diminutive of Gertrude.
Name Census estimates that about 17,231 living Americans carry the first name Trudy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Trudy today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Trudy births was 1947 (975 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Trudy. 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
17K
~ 1 in 19,892 Americans
Peak year
1947
975 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1946 SSA rank
#3,982
Tracked since 1896
Gender
Gender distribution for Trudy
Out of the 25,603 babies given the name Trudy since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Trudy as a male name
- Ranked #3,982 in 1946
- 5 male births in 1946
- Peak: 1946 (5 births)
Trudy as a female name
- Ranked #4,751 in 2024
- 29 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1947 (975 births)
Popularity
Trudy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Trudy from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 8,348 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Trudy 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 Trudy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Trudys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Trudy, while Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 436 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Trudy
The name Trudy is a feminine given name that originated as a diminutive or pet form of the name Gertrude. Gertrude is derived from the Germanic elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "thrud" meaning "strength." The name was introduced into English use during the Middle Ages, with records of its use dating back to the 12th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Trudy was Trudy of Bavaria, a 13th-century German noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to the Holy Roman Empress. In the 14th century, the name was recorded in the form "Trudeken" in the Berne Shrovetide play, a historical Swiss drama depicting the life of Christ.
The name gained popularity in England during the Tudor period, with a notable bearer being Trudy Howard, a member of the powerful Howard family who lived during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. Another prominent figure was Trudy Ascham, an English scholar and tutor to Queen Elizabeth I, born in 1515.
In the 17th century, the name was found in various literary works, including the plays of William Shakespeare, where it was spelled as "Trud" or "Trudchen." One of Shakespeare's characters, Trud, appeared in the play "The Merry Wives of Windsor."
During the 18th century, the name was popular among the Quaker community in England and the United States. Trudy Pemberton, born in 1737, was a prominent Quaker minister and abolitionist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, the name was still in use, with one notable bearer being Trudy Nightingale, a British social reformer and the founder of modern nursing, born in 1820. Another was Trudy Garrett Anderson, a pioneering English physician and feminist, born in 1836.
Throughout history, the name Trudy has been borne by various individuals from different walks of life, including writers, artists, and political figures. It is a name with a rich heritage and a strong connection to its Germanic roots, reflecting strength and resilience.
People
Trudy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Trudy 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
Trudy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Trudy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,231 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Trudy 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 19,892 US residents.
Is Trudy a common name?
We classify Trudy as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25,603 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Trudy most popular?
The single biggest year for Trudy was 1947, when 975 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Trudy is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Trudy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Trudy 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.