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Tracy (name)

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Tracy
Pronunciation/ˈtreɪsi/
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Old French, Old English, Old Irish, Norman
Word/nameTracy (surname)
Region of originEngland, France, Ireland
Other names
Variant form(s)
  • Tracey
  • Tracie
  • Traci
  • Tracee
  • Tracci
  • Treacy
  • Trasci
Short form(s)Trace
Related namesStacy, Lacy, Macy

Tracy (/ˈtreɪsi/; also spelled Tracey, Traci, Tracci, Tracee, Treacy or Tracie, or Trasci), as a British personal name, was originally adopted from Norman surnames such as those of the family de Tracy or de Trasci from Tracy-Bocage in Normandy, France. Derived from the Gaulish male name Draccios, or Latin Thracius ("of Thrace, Thracian"), and the well-identified Celtic suffix -āko ("place, property"), such Norman surnames themselves sprung from several Tracy place-names in France.[1]

The Irish surname Tracey, which may similarly have contributed to the adoption of the English personal name, is derived from the native Irish O'Treasaigh septs. The name is taken from the Irish word "treasach" meaning "war-like" or "fighter". It is also translated as "higher", "more powerful" or "superior". It may also be derived from the Irish word for three, with an association to the Tuatha Dé Danann. The first reference to the surname in the Irish Annals was in 1008: "Gussan, son of Ua Treassach, lord of Ui-Bairrche, died."[citation needed]

According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Tracys were one of the chiefly families of the Uí Bairrche who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.[2]

Given name

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Great Britain

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Tracy births, England & Wales, 1837–1960
Tracy births, England & Wales, 1845–1985

In England and Wales, the name Tracy was not unknown, but unusual, with about two a year, from 1837 until 1955, when, following the success of the American film star Spencer Tracy,[citation needed] the name quite suddenly became very popular, rising to a maximum of 7667 babies being given that name in 1964, but after 1970 the popularity quickly declined to 475 in 1985.[3]

  • Tracy by year, England and Wales, 1837–1956[3]
    Year Number registered
    1836–1847 15
    1846–1857 7
    1856–1867 14
    1866–1877 19
    1876–1887 40
    1886–1897 27
    1896–1907 21
    1906–1917 5
    1916–1927 5
    1926–1937 7
    1938 1
    1939 1
    1940 0
    1941 5
    1942 2
    1943 3
    1944 8
    1945 4
    1946 2
    1947 5
    1948 3
    1949 1
    1950 2
    1951 2
    1952 6
    1953 4
    1954 18
    1955 10
    1956 29
  • Tracy by year, England and Wales, 1957–1985[3]
    Year Number registered
    1957 271
    1958 399
    1959 536
    1960 1,163
    1961 2,640
    1962 2,857
    1963 4,546
    1964 7,667
    1965 7,222
    1966 7,034
    1967 6,052
    1968 6,117
    1969 5,188
    1970 7,737
    1971 6,453
    1972 5,096
    1973 3,861
    1974 3,219
    1975 2,789
    1976 2,036
    1977 2,340
    1978 2,315
    1979 2,056
    1980 1,734
    1981 1,319
    1982 1,052
    1983 899
    1984 830
    1985 475

People

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Surname

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Tracy or Tracey

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Trasci

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Unrelated (pronounced "trashee")

De Tracy

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Given name

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Women

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Tracey
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Traci
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Tracie
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Tracy
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Men

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Tracey
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Tracy
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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France, Librairie Guénégaud 1979. p. 682.
  2. ^ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 61, 70–71. ISBN 0899503624.
  3. ^ a b c Data extracted from FreeBMD database."FreeBMD". www.freebmd.org.uk.
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