Trace
Trace is a name with a single cultural origin: English.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Trace
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Trace is a name with a single cultural origin: English.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Trace
Trace first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1956, with 17 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2008: 534 births, good for #509 nationwide. About 32% of every Trace on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Trace ranks #667 for baby boys with 410 births, rising sharply (+27% over the past five years). All told, over 14K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Trace
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Trace. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Trace
Phonetically similar names — useful when Trace is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Trace
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About the name Trace
Trace is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1956 and has accumulated 14K births in the dataset. Trace's peak popularity came in 2008 when it ranked #437. Use the chart and map above to compare Trace's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2008 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.