Patty
Patty was the 16671st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5 babies. Its best year was 1959, when it ranked 140th with 3,113 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 2,522 places. More babies were named Patty in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Patricia (or Martha) · English, Latin
Say it PAT-ee /ˈpæti/
- Rank in 2025
- #16,671 girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19593,113 babies
- Total since 1880
- 62,699babies recorded
What does the name Patty mean?
Patty is an English pet form with two histories. Today it is usually short for Patricia (Pat plus -y), from the Latin patricius, "noble". Wikipedia notes that it began earlier as a rhyming nickname for Martha, through Mattie, in the same way Peggy came from Meg. Patricia's own source is the Latin word for a member of Rome's aristocratic families. Patty was most popular in the US in the 1950s.
patricius (Latin, “patrician, noble”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Patricia, Pat, Patti, Patsy, Martha.
See also: Latin names, names that mean noble.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Patty', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Patricia', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wikipedia, 'Patty (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Patty popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 247 since 1914.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #16,671 | 5 |
| 2020 | — | — |
| 2010 | #14,604 | 7 |
| 2000 | #6,155 | 18 |
| 1990 | #2,248 | 57 |
| 1980 | #1,212 | 109 |
| 1970 | #395 | 595 |
| 1960 | #145 | 2,936 |
| 1950 | #251 | 902 |
| 1940 | #175 | 1,099 |
| 1930 | #223 | 769 |
| 1920 | #784 | 86 |
| 1910 | #1,318 | 13 |
| 1900 | #1,403 | 9 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | #620 | 9 |
How popular is Patty, counting every spelling?
Patty is the most common spelling of a name family that had 11 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 11 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Patty?
5 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Patty (0.00 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Patty born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1,661 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Patty.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Patty?
About 41,000 people born in the US named Patty are alive today, with a median age of 67; half are between 62 and 74. That makes Patty a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Patty by state
How common Patty was among girls born in each state in 1957–1961, around its peak. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (2.3×), Montana (2.2×), South Dakota (2.1×), Minnesota (1.8×), Nebraska (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Hawaii, Rhode Island, Alabama.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Patty: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Patty, they share its era and feel.
Patty is also a nickname for Martha and Patricia.
Questions about the name Patty
What does Patty mean?
Patty means “pet form of Patricia (or Martha)” (English, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Patty?
Patty was the 16671st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5 babies. Its best year was 1959, when it ranked 140th with 3,113 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 2,522 places. More babies were named Patty in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Patty a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Patty in the US.
Where was Patty most popular?
In 1957–1961, Patty was most common in West Virginia (3.04 per 1,000 girls), followed by Montana and South Dakota.