Tabaitha
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "gazelle".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Tabaitha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tabaitha today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tabaitha births was 1970 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tabaitha. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tabaitha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1970
6 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1982 SSA rank
#12,090
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Tabaitha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tabaitha from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Tabaitha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tabaitha 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 Tabaitha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tabaitha
The name Tabaitha is derived from the Aramaic name Tavitha, which means "gazelle" or "graceful." It is believed to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia, and the earliest recorded instances date back to the 1st century AD.
In the Christian New Testament, the name appears in the Book of Acts, where a woman named Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek) is described as a disciple of Jesus who lived in Joppa and was known for her charitable works. After her death, the apostle Peter miraculously restores her to life.
The name Tabaitha gained popularity among early Christians, particularly in the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East. It was also used in various forms in other cultures, such as the Arabic "Tabitha" and the Hebrew "Tavita."
One of the earliest known individuals named Tabaitha was Tabaitha of Isidore, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. She was tortured and executed for her faith during the persecutions under the Roman Emperor Decius.
In the 5th century, there was a Saint Tabaitha who lived in Bethlehem and was known for her piety and asceticism. She is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
Another notable figure was Tabaitha of Antioch, a Byzantine abbess who lived in the 6th century and founded several monasteries in Syria and Palestine.
In the 11th century, Tabaitha of Portugal, also known as Saint Thaïs, was a Portuguese princess who renounced her wealth and became a hermit, living a life of extreme austerity and penitence.
During the Renaissance period, Tabaitha Cowley (1643-1728) was an English novelist and playwright, known for her work "The Maids' Revenge" and her adaptation of Aphra Behn's play "The Rover."
While the name Tabaitha has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a unique and historical name with deep roots in various cultures and religious traditions.
People
Tabaitha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tabaitha 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
Tabaitha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tabaitha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tabaitha 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Tabaitha a common name?
We classify Tabaitha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tabaitha most popular?
The single biggest year for Tabaitha was 1970, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tabaitha is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Tabaitha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tabaitha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tabaitha in the SSA data are female. 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 Tabaitha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tabaitha 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 Tabaitha 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Tabaitha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.