A 1922 New York Times Magazine profile spelled the Soviet Union revolutionary’s name Leon Trotzky, with a ‘z.’ When did the predominant spelling become Leon Trotsky, with an ‘s’?

Google Books’ Ngram Viewer allows you to search for the relative popularity of different words or phrases in books over time. The ‘s’ spelling actually first became more frequent in 1921, the year before this 1922 article was published, but the margin was close for a few years. The ‘s’ spelling first exceeded the ‘z’ spelling by at least double in 1925.

In 2019, the most recent year available, the ‘s’ spelling won out by 93x.

Trotzky Explains New Red Capitalism

Published: Sunday, October 15, 2022