Trey
Torn between Trey and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
means 'three', traditionally given to a third (e.g. a namesake III)
The story
Trey is the card player's three, from Old French treis, and in American use it became the affectionate title for a third: the son who follows Junior, the III on the letterhead made casual at the dinner table. The record shows trace use from the 1950s and a steady climb to its peak across the 2000s and 2010s, as Trey completed the classic nickname journey and graduated to a given name in its own right. It has eased modestly since. Whether most Treys still have a I and a II behind them is not something the birth record can answer, since it lists names and not the generations they honor. What the record does show is a name that arrived as pure arithmetic and outlived it, keeping only the swagger, the card slapped down face up.
How popular is Trey around the world?
In the United States, 2,175 babies were named Trey between 2020 and 2025.
Trey is on the official records of the United States, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,175 babies were named Trey between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Trey peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 32 boys named Trey were born in 2024, the 808th most common name among boys 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)
England and Wales
1 in 49,000
In England and Wales, 12 boys named Trey were born in 2025, ranked 2,014th among boys 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
Trey 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 1 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)
Ireland
last on record 2004
Trey is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New Zealand
last on record 2014
Trey is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
last on record 2018
Trey is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
South Australia
last on record 2016
Trey is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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
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 Trey
Most people given the name Trey 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.
Where Trey travels
African American · A documented choice in Black American families.
Keep exploring
The Trey deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Trey 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 Trey fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Trey fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Trey to your family’s tree →