Tracy

Meaning and origin of Tracy

Tracy is an English and French name that is usually said to mean “from a French place name”.

Tracy comes from a Norman surname taken from French place names such as Tracy-Bocage and Tracy-sur-Mer in Normandy. The de Tracy family came to England after the Norman Conquest, and the surname later became a given name, first mainly for boys. In the twentieth century it shifted toward girls in the United States, though it remains unisex. Spencer Tracy carried the surname to Hollywood fame, and singer Tracy Chapman is a well-known modern bearer. Some people link it informally to Theresa, but the place-name origin is the more accepted one. Tracy has a friendly, easygoing sound and a distinctly late-century American feel.

Other spellings with the same sound: Tracey, Traci, Tracie.

Gender, sound and spelling

Tracy is used for both boys and girls: over the last 20 years about 66% of US babies named Tracy were girls and 34% were boys.

Tracy is usually pronounced TRAY-see, with two syllables. It has five letters, starts with T and ends in “-cy”. Names that sound the same but are spelled differently include Tracey, Traci, and Tracie.