Tatum
Tatum was the 202nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,736 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 195th with 1,841 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 385 places. More babies were named Tatum in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Tata's homestead (place name) · Old English
Say it TAY-tuhm /ˈteɪtəm/
- Rank in 2025
- #202 boys, up 288 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,736boys
- Girls and boys
- 49% girls, 51% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20241,841 babies
- Total since 1880
- 41,874babies recorded
What does the name Tatum mean?
Tatum is an English surname from Tatham, a place name made of the Old English personal name Tata and ham, 'homestead'; Wiktionary and Wikipedia agree. Wiktionary says the meaning of the personal name Tata is unknown. As a first name Tatum is a transferred surname used for both girls and boys, and Tate is a related surname built on the same personal name.
Tāta (Old English, “personal name (meaning unknown)”)hām (Old English, “homestead”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Tate, Tatham.
See also: English names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Tatum', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Tatum (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Tatum
The usual nicknames for Tatum are Tate. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Tatum in the last five years, 115 were named Tate, against 1135 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tate · also for Taytum | Modern | #194 | 7,997 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Tatums go by each one.
Tatum popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #189 | #202 | 1,661 | 1,736 |
| 2020 | #344 | #490 | 903 | 598 |
| 2010 | #335 | #752 | 965 | 301 |
| 2000 | #420 | #2,291 | 675 | 43 |
| 1990 | #1,565 | #4,956 | 98 | 11 |
| 1980 | #1,284 | #2,437 | 100 | 21 |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Tatum, counting every spelling?
Tatum has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #226 for boys in 2025, against #202 on the official list, because Kayson/Kaison/Kaysen and Cohen/Kohen/Kohyn and Eric/Erick/Erik move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Tatum?
1,736 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Tatum (0.48 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Tatum born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 5 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Tatum.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Tatum?
About 13,100 people born in the US named Tatum are alive today, with a median age of 5; half are between 2 and 11. That makes Tatum a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Tatum by state
How common Tatum was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (3.7×), West Virginia (3.1×), Hawaii (3.0×), Maine (2.9×), Kentucky (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in District of Columbia, New Jersey, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Tatum: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Tatum, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Tatum · Sibling names for Tatum
Questions about the name Tatum
What does Tatum mean?
Tatum means “Tata's homestead (place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Tatum?
Tatum was the 202nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,736 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 195th with 1,841 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 385 places. More babies were named Tatum in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Tatum a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 49% girls, 51% boys given the name Tatum in the US.
Where is Tatum most popular?
In 2021–2025, Tatum was most common in North Dakota (2.99 per 1,000 boys), followed by West Virginia and Hawaii.