Truth
The name Truth conveys sincerity, integrity, and unwavering adherence to what is genuine and real.
Name Census estimates that about 2,035 living Americans carry the first name Truth. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Truth today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Truth births was 2021 (207 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Truth. 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.
Key insights
- • Truth sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Truth is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 168,430 Americans
Peak year
2021
207 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,501
Tracked since 1914
Census
Truth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,000 people with the first name Truth, which placed it at #12,439 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
#12,439
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,000 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Truth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Truth is Black at 58.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Truth 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 Truth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.5% · 585
- White20.0% · 200
- Two or more races10.2% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Truth
Truth is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,085 total registrations, 1,350 (64.7%) were male and 735 (35.3%) were female.
Truth as a male name
- Ranked #1,501 in 2024
- 119 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (145 births)
Truth as a female name
- Ranked #3,208 in 2024
- 50 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (65 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Truth on both sides of the split. Of the 999 people counted with this name, 595 were male (59.6%) and 404 were female (40.4%).
Popularity
Truth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Truth from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 929 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
Truth 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 Truth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Truths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Truth, while New Jersey, Minnesota, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Truth
The name Truth has an intriguing history that spans across various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English word "treowth," which means fidelity or loyalty. This word is derived from the Proto-Germanic root "trewwaz," meaning firm or solid.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Truth was used as a virtue name, reflecting the value placed on honesty and integrity in many belief systems. It was often bestowed upon individuals with a reputation for truthfulness and trustworthiness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Truth can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in England from the late 9th century. It mentions a man named Truth who was a respected scholar and advisor to King Alfred the Great.
In the 16th century, Truth gained popularity among Puritans in England and later in the American colonies. Puritans often chose virtue names for their children as a way to express their religious beliefs and values. Notable figures from this era include Truth Fowler (1617-1690), a renowned Puritan minister in Massachusetts.
The name Truth also holds significance in various religious texts. In the Christian Bible, Jesus is referred to as "the way, the truth, and the life" in the Gospel of John. This association with divine truth has likely contributed to the name's enduring appeal among Christian communities.
One of the most famous individuals named Truth was Truth Stratton (1784-1859), an African American woman born into slavery in New York. She later became an influential abolitionist and advocate for women's rights, known for her powerful speeches and her autobiography, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth."
Another notable figure was Truth Bacon (1801-1868), an English philosopher and writer who explored themes of skepticism and empiricism in his works. His writings had a significant influence on the development of modern philosophical thought.
In the 20th century, Truth Lusk (1901-1981) was a renowned American opera singer and actress. She performed leading roles in many operas and musicals, and her talents were celebrated both in the United States and internationally.
The name Truth continues to be used across various cultures, albeit with varying levels of popularity. Its enduring appeal lies in its powerful symbolism and the aspiration for honesty, integrity, and unwavering commitment to truth.
People
Truth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Truth 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
Truth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Truth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,035 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Truth 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 168,430 US residents.
Is Truth a common name?
We classify Truth as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,085 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Truth most popular?
The single biggest year for Truth was 2021, when 207 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Truth is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Truth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,000 people with the name Truth, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,439 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 Truth 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 Truth?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Truth on both sides of the split. Of the 999 people counted with this name, 595 were male (59.6%) and 404 were female (40.4%). 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 Truth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Truth is Black at 58.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Truth most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Truth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (585 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 Truth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Truth a male name?
Yes, 64.7% of people registered as Truth 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 Truth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Truth 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 Truth 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 share the name Truth?
Want to know how many people share the name Truth? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.