Coy - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Coy

Coy, pronounced KOY (/kɔɪ/), originates as an English surname that evolved from the Middle English adjective “coy,” itself drawn from Old French coi, meaning “quiet” or “still,” and by extension came to denote a person marked by reserve or modest composure; secondarily, in North America it occasionally reflects a contracted form of the Irish‐Scottish patronym McCoy, thereby linking the name to the Gaelic personal name Aodh (“fire”). As a given name, Coy entered American usage in the late nineteenth century alongside other succinct, frontier-tinged appellations, finding particular favor in the rural South and West where its laconic sound harmonized with regional naming aesthetics that prized brevity and understated strength. United States birth records reveal a sustained, if moderate, presence: after reaching a relative high point in the 1910s, the name experienced a gradual decline yet never disappeared, maintaining annual tallies typically between eighty and two hundred newborn boys and, in recent decades, stabilizing in the 700–800 range of national rank. The semantic undertone of quiet confidence, combined with historic associations to both Anglo-Norman reserve and Gaelic resilience, grants Coy an appeal to parents seeking a concise, gently traditional choice that remains uncommon without feeling unfamiliar.