Lloyd

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Lloyd is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name123K records spelled Lloyd7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Philippines, Brazil, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written James Lloyd, Llòyd, Llôÿd, Llöyd, Lloÿd

• a separate given name41K records spelled Lloyd2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

90 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Lloyd is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from Welsh llwyd ‘grey’; cited in JEG 291 as one of the Lloyd families descended from Golden Grove.

  as a name·Welsh Surnames

• In English, Listed here among surnames associated with the color “brown”.

  as a name·Tên Họ Người Việt Nam

• In English, Welsh llwyd 'grey'; first attested Richard Loyt 1327 SRWo.

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• descriptive nickname from Welsh llwyd ‘gray’. In Welsh the color term llwyd also includes shades of brown, and it is likely that, when used with reference to younger men, llwyd denoted brown or mouse-colored hair.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Transferred use of the Welsh surname, originally a nickname meaning ‘grey (-haired)’ (Welsh Iwyd). See also Floyd.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Frank Lloyd Wrightb. 1867USAmerican architect (1867-1959)
• Lloyd Nolanb. 1902USAmerican actor (1902-1985)
• Lloyd Shapleyb. 1923USAmerican economist and mathematician
• David Johnstonb. 1941CAnot in their usual nameGovernor General of Canada from 2010 to 2017
• Beau Bridgesb. 1941USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor
• Lloyd Kaufmanb. 1945USAmerican film director
• Lloyd Austinb. 1953USUnited States 28th Secretary of Defense
• Bryan Danielsonb. 1981USnot in their usual nameAmerican professional wrestler
• José Holebasb. 1984DEnot in their usual nameGreek association football player (born 1984)
• Rupert Grintb. 1988GBnot in their usual nameEnglish actor (born 1988)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 693 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lloyd?

We estimate roughly 65 thousand people bear Lloyd (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Lloyd have the most bearers?

Lloyd is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled lloyd.

Where is Lloyd most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Lloyd is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 791 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Lloyd compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Lloyd is the 408th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Lloyd a male or female name?

Lloyd is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Lloyd mean?

Recorded meaning: From a medieval Welsh nickname for a grey-haired person or someone who wore grey clothes, from Welsh llwyd “grey”.