Given name & surname
Lloyd
“grey(-haired)”·“a gray-haired man; one who is sacred”
Lloyd is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “grey(-haired)” (Welsh) and “a gray-haired man; one who is sacred” (Welsh). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “grey(-haired)” (Welsh) and “a gray-haired man; one who is sacred” (Welsh). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Welsh.
How it developed
From Welsh llwyd (“grey, grey-haired”); its root is Proto-Indo-European *pelH-.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lloyd through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 161,988
- 160,990 boys · 998 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 3,765 babies
- 2025
- 111
- #1,549 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −4%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 111 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,549 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,742 in 1918. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 63,231 as a first name in 2020; 62,010 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lloyd’s family of names
In English usage, Lloyd has a diminutive in LLOYDIE. Lloyd has a related form in Floyd. Lloyd has a related form in Loyd.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lloyd has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Welsh roots to each of them.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lloyd
- Lloyd AustinUnited States 28th Secretary of Defenseborn 1953
- Lloyd ShapleyAmerican economist and mathematician1923–2016
- Beau BridgesAmerican actorborn 1941
- Lloyd BridgesAmerican actor (1913–1998)
- Lloyd SherrAmerican actorborn 1956
- Lloyd BanksAmerican rapperborn 1982
- Lloyd AlexanderAmerican children's writer (1924-2007)
- Lloyd Baconactor, director (1889-1955)
- Lloyd BentsenAmerican politician (1921–2006)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lloyd, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Boyd
“a blonde-haired man”
>99% boys
Coy
“son of Aodh” · “fire”
>99% boys
Orin
“a dark-haired beauty”
99% boys · 1% girls
Henderson
“the son of Henry”
>99% boys
Oran
“surrounded by light” · “a pale-skinned man”
>99% boys
Cyril
“a master or lord”
>99% boys
Maurice
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys
Wallace
“foreign, Celtic” · “a Welshman; a man from the south”
98% boys · 2% girls