Tab
A variant of the French name Étienne, derived from the Greek Stephanos meaning "crown".
Name Census estimates that about 941 living Americans carry the first name Tab. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tab today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tab births was 1957 (120 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tab. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
941
~ 1 in 364,245 Americans
Peak year
1957
120 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,796
Tracked since 1953
Census
Tab in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,042 people with the first name Tab, which placed it at #12,077 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,077
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,042 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tab
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tab is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tab described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tab at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 851
- Black or African American8.7% · 91
- Two or more races3.5% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 11
Popularity
Tab: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tab from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 425 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tab by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tab during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tabs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Tab, while North Carolina, Minnesota, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tab
The name Tab is an unusual and intriguing given name with a fascinating history. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, where it was derived from the Akkadian word "tabbu," meaning "to be good" or "to be pleasing." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon children as a symbol of hope and aspiration for their future.
In the ancient Sumerian civilization, which flourished in the region of modern-day Iraq, the name Tab was recorded on cuneiform tablets dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE. These early inscriptions provide some of the earliest known references to the name, indicating its long-standing presence in the region.
As civilizations rose and fell across the Middle East, the name Tab seems to have persisted, albeit with variations in spelling and pronunciation. In ancient Hebrew texts, the name is sometimes spelled as "Tov," which shares a similar meaning of "good" or "pleasing."
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Tab was a Sumerian scribe who lived around 2500 BCE. His name, inscribed on clay tablets, has contributed to our understanding of the early writing systems and literary traditions of ancient Mesopotamia.
In the 8th century BCE, Tab bar Abgar was a prominent Assyrian military commander who served under King Sargon II. His exploits are documented in the annals of the Assyrian Empire, which provide valuable insights into the military strategies and campaigns of that era.
During the Byzantine Empire, a notable figure named Tab the Patrician emerged in the 6th century CE. He was a high-ranking official and diplomat who played a crucial role in negotiating treaties and maintaining diplomatic relations between the Byzantine Empire and its neighbors.
In the Islamic world, the name Tab gained popularity during the medieval period. One notable bearer of the name was Tab al-Mutanabbi, a renowned Arab poet who lived in the 10th century CE. His poetic works, which explored themes of love, courage, and virtue, have left an indelible mark on Arabic literature.
Another prominent individual named Tab was a 12th-century Persian scholar and philosopher known as Tab al-Din Shirazi. His contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy were significant, and his writings influenced generations of scholars in the Islamic world.
While the name Tab may have waxed and waned in popularity across different eras and regions, its historical significance and rich cultural heritage have endured. From ancient Mesopotamia to the Islamic Golden Age, the name has been borne by scribes, warriors, diplomats, poets, and scholars, leaving an indelible mark on the tapestry of human civilization.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tab
People
Tab + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tab as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tab: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tab?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 941 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tab going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 364,245 US residents.
Is Tab a common name?
We classify Tab as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tab most popular?
The single biggest year for Tab was 1957, when 120 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tab is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tab in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,042 people with the name Tab, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,077 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tab in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tab?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tab leans strongly male. 907 people counted with this name were male (87.1%), compared with 134 female bearers (12.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tab?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tab is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tab most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tab in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (851 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tab in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tab a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tab in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tab still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tab in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tab can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Tab?
Want to know how many people share the name Tab? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.