Paddy

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Diminutive of Patrick

Paddy has been given to 341 babies in the U.S. since 1928. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1934, with 28 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 73% girls, 27% boys all-time.

Babies named Paddy, 1959

1 in 832,000

Paddy over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Paddy over time

In 2018, Paddy went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19282018

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Paddy: meaning, origin, and history

Diminutive of Patrick

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Paddy means

Paddy is a diminutive of Patrick.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Paddy is used in Irish.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Paddy → Patrick. The family’s meaning is “patrician”, recorded in English with the source elements Patricius.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Patrick.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 248 girls were recorded with the name Paddy between 1928 and 1959. Its highest annual count was 28 in 1934; its best national rank was #1,397 in 1934.

In the United States, 93 boys were recorded with the name Paddy between 1929 and 2018. Its highest annual count was 8 in 1948; its best national rank was #2,950 in 1948.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Paddy?

Paddy had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1959, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1959: 1 in 832,000; 5 of 4,157,642 births
Among girls only: 1 in 405,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 1959: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 576,373 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Paddy sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1959 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 576,373 children born in 1959 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Paddy. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Paddys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Paddy was born before 1937 — so the typical Paddy is around 88 today.

Median birth year: 1937; About 88 years old
Biggest decade: 1930s; 52.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 69.4%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 57; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1930s — 52.0% of all recorded uses (129).

Is Paddy rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1934 (28)
Years since peak: 91; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 58.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,397; 1934

Spellings of Paddy

Paddy is not the most common spelling — Patsy is, with 33.1% against Paddy's 0.07%.

Patsy33.1%119,448
Sandy19.1%69,072
Patty17.3%62,452
Mandy11.8%42,465
Candy7.9%28,525
Pansy3.0%10,953
Kandy1.5%5,306
Randy1.4%5,004

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Paddy around the world

Where Paddy ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

South Australia
1954–1992
#704
in 1992

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Paddy by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,397; 1934
Peak year: 1934; 28 that year
First recorded: 1928
Last recorded: 1959
All-time count: 248
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,950; 1948
Peak year: 1948; 8 that year
First recorded: 1929
Last recorded: 2018
All-time count: 93
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Paddy

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Padme Padma Paden Leddy Eddy Maddy Haddy Heddy Teddy Liddy Freddy Padee Addy Pader Buddy Padyn Biddy Kaddy Pada Meiddy Padgett Ruddy Padmini Aadhyareddy

Sibling names for Paddy

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Shirlee Joe Marlyn Jimmie Lavonne Claudette Bettye Louella

For a brother

Boyce Arlen Delano Talmadge Franklyn Huey Shirley Rayford

Explore around Paddy

Top names of 1934, Paddy's peak year The 1930s in full Other names that peaked in 1934 Girls' names starting with P