Ptolemy

#10,422 in 2025Boys' name

Aggressive, warlike

Ptolemy has been given to 57 babies in the U.S. since 2003. In 2025 it ranked #10,422 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2016, with 9 recorded.

Babies named Ptolemy, 2025

1 in 474,000

Ptolemy over time, 1880–2025

Boys

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Ptolemy: meaning, origin, and history

Aggressive, warlike

Ancient Greek

What Ptolemy means

Ptolemy means “aggressive, warlike”.

Origin, language, and formation

Ptolemy is used in English. Its origins include Ancient Greek.

Ptolemy comes through Ancient Greek Πτολεμαῖος.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ptolemy is pronounced /ˈtɑləmi/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 57 boys were recorded with the name Ptolemy between 2003 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 9 in 2016; its best national rank was #8,646 in 2016.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #11,652 in 2020 to #10,422 in 2025.

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 Ptolemy?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 474,000; 7 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 244,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #10,422; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 328,272 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Ptolemy sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 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 328,272 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ptolemy. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ptolemys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ptolemy was born before 2019 — so the typical Ptolemy is around 6 today.

Median birth year: 2019; About 6 years old
Biggest decade: 2020s; 42.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 100.0%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 57; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2020s — 42.1% of all recorded uses (24).

Is Ptolemy 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: +1,230; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 77.8%; Peak was 2016 (9)
Years since peak: 9; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Steady; 8.3% average annual change
Best rank ever: #8,646; 2016

Ptolemy around the world

Where Ptolemy 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.

England & Wales
1996–2024
#5,120
in 2024

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Ptolemy by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #10,422
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 1,230
Best rank ever: #8,646; 2016
Peak year: 2016; 9 that year
First recorded: 2003
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 57
Count in 2025: 7

Names similar to Ptolemy

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

Bellemy Jheremy Yeremy Rhemy Laremy Jerremy Jaremy Jehremy Alchemy Geremy Eremy Teremy Deremy Artemy Remy Jeremy

Sibling names for Ptolemy

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

Annabell Abagail Karleigh Rhianna Alysa Adelle Sydnie Kendyl

For a brother

Aaden Kale Hamilton Caesar Brennen Tobin Jerimiah Jorden

Explore around Ptolemy

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