Macy
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Meaning
an English surname from towns called Massy in France; their names came from a personal name used in Gaul under Roman rule, written Maccius in Latin
The story
The first character balloon in the Macy's parade needed a little help getting above the crowd. In 1927, volunteers carried Felix the Cat on sticks; helium-filled balloons followed the next year. Behind that very practical beginning sits a surname with a much longer journey. Macy comes from an English surname derived from French towns called Massy, whose names trace back to a Gallo-Roman personal name Latinized as Maccius. The familiar New York connection belongs to Rowland H. Macy, who opened his dry-goods store there in 1858. His surname became the store name, and decades later its parade sent Felix the Cat above the crowd on sticks. French place names and a New York shop lead to that unexpectedly practical sight: a parade cat supported from the ground.
How popular is Macy around the world?
In the United States, 2,597 babies were named Macy between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 7 girls were registered as Macy in 2017.
Macy is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, Ireland, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,400
In the United States, 2,597 babies were named Macy between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Macy peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 girls were registered as Macy in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 girls named Macy were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 4,600
In Scotland, 10 girls named Macy were registered in 2024, the 333rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 9,400
In Canada, 39 girls named Macy were born in 2024, the 746th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 girls named Macy were born in 2025, the 608th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 33,000
In England and Wales, 18 girls named Macy were born in 2025, ranked 1,639th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
last on record 2023
Macy is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 25 people in Brazil were named Macy, ranked 106,978th, with a median age of 43.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Macy
Most people given the name Macy in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Macy deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Macy truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Macy fits with your family’s names and surname.
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