Tru
A diminutive of the French word "true", suggesting honesty or sincerity.
Name Census estimates that about 5,514 living Americans carry the first name Tru. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Tru today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tru births was 2024 (761 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tru. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tru with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Tru sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Tru is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.5K
~ 1 in 62,161 Americans
Peak year
2024
761 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#618
Tracked since 1995
Census
Tru in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,389 people with the first name Tru, which placed it at #6,650 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,650
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,389 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
37.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tru
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tru is Black at 37.0%. The next largest groups are White (27.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tru described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tru at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American37.0% · 883
- White27.3% · 652
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.6% · 349
- Two or more races11.1% · 266
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 192
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 47
Gender
Gender distribution for Tru
Tru is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 5,556 total registrations, 3,290 (59.2%) were male and 2,266 (40.8%) were female.
Tru as a male name
- Ranked #618 in 2024
- 461 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (461 births)
Tru as a female name
- Ranked #892 in 2024
- 300 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (300 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tru on both sides of the split. Of the 2,383 people counted with this name, 1,352 were male (56.7%) and 1,031 were female (43.3%).
Popularity
Tru: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tru from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 3,193 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tru 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 Tru during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Trus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Tru, while Oregon, Minnesota, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 106 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tru
The name Tru is believed to have its origins in Old English, where it was derived from the word "treowe," meaning "true" or "faithful." This name emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century in what is now England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tru can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and population in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Trew" and "Trew," indicating its widespread usage during that time.
In medieval times, the name Tru held symbolic significance, representing virtues like honesty, loyalty, and unwavering commitment. It was often bestowed upon individuals who exhibited these qualities or aspired to embody them. The name's association with these ideals made it a popular choice among the nobility and the clergy.
One notable individual bearing the name Tru was Trew le Batailleur, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century. He is mentioned in several historical accounts for his bravery and loyalty on the battlefield.
Another prominent figure with the name Tru was Trew de Verdon, a 13th-century English landowner and Baron of Alton. He played a significant role in the political and military affairs of his time, serving as a trusted advisor to King Henry III.
During the English Renaissance, the name Tru gained further popularity, particularly among the Puritans, who valued names with virtuous connotations. One notable Puritan figure was Trew Winthrop, born in 1588, who was a prominent figure in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and served as the first governor of Connecticut.
In the 18th century, the name Tru was adopted by several notable figures, including Trew Paine, an influential philosopher and political theorist who played a crucial role in the American Revolution. His influential works, such as "Common Sense" and "The Rights of Man," inspired many to embrace the ideals of liberty and democracy.
Another historical figure named Tru was Trew Jackson, a 19th-century American military leader and statesman. He served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837 and was known for his unwavering dedication to upholding the Union and expanding democracy.
While the name Tru has its roots in Old English, its significance and usage have transcended cultural boundaries, making it a name that has been embraced across various societies and time periods.
People
Tru + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tru 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
Tru: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tru?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,514 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tru 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 62,161 US residents.
Is Tru a common name?
We classify Tru as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,556 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tru most popular?
The single biggest year for Tru was 2024, when 761 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tru is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tru in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,389 people with the name Tru, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,650 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tru in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tru?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tru on both sides of the split. Of the 2,383 people counted with this name, 1,352 were male (56.7%) and 1,031 were female (43.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tru?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tru is Black at 37.0%. The next largest groups are White (27.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tru most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tru in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.0% (883 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Tru in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tru a male name?
Yes, 59.2% of people registered as Tru 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 Tru still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tru 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 Tru 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.
How many people have the name Tru?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Tru on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.