Given name & surname
True
“one who is honest”
True is used as a given name and a surname. One American interpretation is “one who is honest.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One American interpretation is “one who is honest.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
True through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,665
- 2,479 boys · 2,186 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 437 babies
- 2025
- 369
- #1,050 for boys · #1,387 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +109%
- Rising fast
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 52% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 211 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,050 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 102.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 158 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,115 as a first name in 2020; 7,865 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.
True’s family of names
True has a related form in Tru. True has a related form in Truitt. True has a related form in Trew.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named True
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love True, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Peace
“a harmonious woman”
41% boys · 59% girls
Arden
“one who is passionate and enthusiastic” · “from the valley of the eagles”
40% boys · 60% girls
Wylie
“a clever and coy woman”
72% boys · 28% girls
Aris
“the best” · “one who is superior”
59% boys · 41% girls
Merritt
“from the boundary's gate” · “one who deserves good fortune”
34% boys · 66% girls
Honor
Honor is a variant of Honora. One Latin interpretation is “having a good name and integrity; an honorable woman.”
50% boys · 50% girls
Roe
“one who hunts deer”
46% boys · 54% girls
Jae
“resembling a jaybird”
61% boys · 39% girls