A park sign depicting Dick Tracy, a fictional police detective in the American comic strip Dick Tracy, which has been in syndication since 1931.
American actor Spencer Tracy.
Actress Katharine Hepburn portrayed Tracy Lord in the 1940 American romantic comedy film The Philadelphia Story.
Grace Kelly portrayed Tracy Samantha Lord in the 1956 American romantic comedy musical film High Society. Kelly is pictured with Louis Armstrong on the film set.

Tracy (/ˈtrsi/; also spelled Tracey, Traci, Tracci, Tracee, Treacy or Tracie, or Trasci), is an English given name and surname. As a British personal name, it was originally adopted from Norman surnames such as those of the family de Tracy or de Trasci from Tracy-Bocage in Normandy, France. Derived from the Gaulish male name Draccios, or Latin Thracius ("of Thrace, Thracian"), and the well-identified Celtic suffix -āko ("place, property"), such Norman surnames themselves sprung from several Tracy place-names in France.[1]

The Irish surname Tracey, which may similarly have contributed to the adoption of the English personal name, is derived from the native Irish O'Treasaigh septs. The name is taken from the Irish word "treasach" meaning "war-like" or "fighter". It is also translated as "higher", "more powerful" or "superior". It may also be derived from the Irish word for three, with an association to the Tuatha Dé Danann. The first reference to the surname in the Irish annals was in 1008: "Gussan, son of Ua Treassach, lord of Ui-Bairrche, died."[citation needed]

According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Tracys were one of the chiefly families of the Uí Bairrche who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.[2]

As a given name for girls, Tracy is a traditional English hypocorism for the name Teresa.[3]

Cultural influences

Usage of the name for boys was popularized by Dick Tracy, a fictional police detective in the American comic strip Dick Tracy, which has been in syndication since 1931, and by the fame of American actor Spencer Tracy.

It was popularized as a name for girls by Tracy Lord, a beautiful heiress played by Katharine Hepburn in the 1940 American romantic comedy film The Philadelphia Story and by Grace Kelly in the 1956 American romantic comedy musical film High Society, a remake of the 1940 film. Usage in the United States might have been affected by Tracy Ann Boyle, the daughter of newspaper columnist Hal Boyle. Boyle wrote about his daughter from the time he adopted her in 1953 until the early 1970s and her photograph was occasionally published in newspapers nationwide.[4]

Given name

Great Britain

In England and Wales, the name Tracy was not unknown, but unusual, with about two a year, from 1837 until 1955, the name quite suddenly became very popular, rising to a maximum of 7667 girls being given that name in 1964. After 1970 the popularity quickly declined to 475 in 1985.[5] It was among the top 100 names for girls in Scotland between 1964 and 1987. It peaked in popularity in 1970, when it was the 10th most popular name for Scottish girls.[6]

  • Tracy by year, England and Wales, 1837–1956[5]
    Year Number registered
    1836–1847 15
    1846–1857 7
    1856–1867 14
    1866–1877 19
    1876–1887 40
    1886–1897 27
    1896–1907 21
    1906–1917 5
    1916–1927 5
    1926–1937 7
    1938 1
    1939 1
    1940 0
    1941 5
    1942 2
    1943 3
    1944 8
    1945 4
    1946 2
    1947 5
    1948 3
    1949 1
    1950 2
    1951 2
    1952 6
    1953 4
    1954 18
    1955 10
    1956 29
  • Tracy by year, England and Wales, 1957–1985[5]
    Year Number registered
    1957 271
    1958 399
    1959 536
    1960 1,163
    1961 2,640
    1962 2,857
    1963 4,546
    1964 7,667
    1965 7,222
    1966 7,034
    1967 6,052
    1968 6,117
    1969 5,188
    1970 7,737
    1971 6,453
    1972 5,096
    1973 3,861
    1974 3,219
    1975 2,789
    1976 2,036
    1977 2,340
    1978 2,315
    1979 2,056
    1980 1,734
    1981 1,319
    1982 1,052
    1983 899
    1984 830
    1985 475

Ireland

Tracy was among the 100 most popular names for girls in Ireland between 1970 and 1988. It was most popular in 1971, when it was the 54th most popular names for Irish girls.[7]

United States

Tracy, as a transferred use of the surname, has been in use as a masculine name in the United States since the 19th century. It was among the 1,000 most popular names for American boys between 1880 and 1999, was among the top 200 names for boys between 1959 and 1974, and was at the height of popularity as a male name between 1966 and 1967, when it ranked 98th on the U.S. popularity chart for boys.

The name Tracy has been in occasional use as an independent name since the 19th century for American girls and appeared sporadically among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls in the 1880s and 1890s. Tracy ranked among the 1,000 most popular given names for American girls between 1942 and 2004 and was among the top 100 names for American girls between 1960 and 1984. It peaked in 1970, when it was the 10th most popular names for American girls.[8] [9][10]

Canada

Tracy ranked among the 100 most popular names for Canadian girls between 1957 and 1984 and was among the ten most popular names for Canadian girls between 1969 and 1973.[11]

Australia

Tracy ranked among the 100 most popular names for girls in Australia between 1960 and 1981.[12]

New Zealand

Tracy ranked among the 100 most popular names for girls in New Zealand between 1961 and 1985. It peaked in 1970, when it was the 11th most popular names for girls in New Zealand.[13]

France

Tracy was among the top 500 names for French girls between 1989 and 2003. It peaked in use in 1991, when it was ranked No. 169 on the French popularity chart.[14]

People

Surname

Tracy or Tracey

Trasci

Unrelated (pronounced "trashee")

De Tracy

Given name

Women

Tracey
Traci
Tracie
Tracy

Men

Tracey
Tracy

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France, Librairie Guénégaud 1979. p. 682.
  2. ^ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 61, 70–71. ISBN 0899503624.
  3. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 263. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
  4. ^ https://www.nancy.cc/2025/02/18/baby-name-tracy-1/
  5. ^ a b c Data extracted from FreeBMD database."FreeBMD". www.freebmd.org.uk.
  6. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/scotland?type=percent
  7. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/ireland
  8. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 263. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
  9. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/united-states
  10. ^ https://www.nancy.cc/2025/02/18/baby-name-tracy-1/
  11. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/canada
  12. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/australia-nsw
  13. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/new-zealand
  14. ^ https://www.behindthename.com/name/tracy/top/france
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