Tadan
A masculine name originating from India, meaning "one who walks."
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the first name Tadan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tadan today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tadan births was 2003 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tadan. 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
112
~ 1 in 3,060,307 Americans
Peak year
2003
16 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,999
Tracked since 1998
Census
Tadan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Tadan, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tadan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tadan is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.1%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tadan 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 Tadan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 81
- Two or more races15.1% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 8
- Black or African American5.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.0% · 6
Popularity
Tadan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tadan from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tadan 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 Tadan 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 Tadan
The name Tadan has its origins in the ancient Dravidian languages of southern India, specifically in the Tamil and Malayalam languages. It can be traced back to the 5th century CE or earlier, when these languages were widely spoken in the region.
The name Tadan is derived from the Tamil word "tadan," which means "one who walks with grace or dignity." It is believed to have been a descriptive name given to individuals who possessed a regal or stately demeanor.
In ancient Tamil literature, such as the Sangam literature dating back to the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, there are references to individuals bearing the name Tadan. However, specific details about these historical figures are scarce due to the limited records from that era.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tadan can be found in the 7th century CE inscription on the walls of the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The inscription mentions a person named Tadan who was a skilled architect involved in the construction of the temple.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tadan. One such person was Tadan Srinivasan (1903-1981), an Indian mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and differential geometry.
Another prominent figure was Tadan Vazhumuttom (1892-1972), a renowned Malayalam poet and playwright from Kerala. His works, including the play "Amma," are considered classics in Malayalam literature.
In the 18th century, Tadan Thampan (1737-1806) was a celebrated Malayalam poet and scholar from the Kingdom of Travancore (present-day Kerala). He was known for his expertise in Sanskrit and was the author of several works, including the epic poem "Bharatamala."
During the 16th century, Tadan Rajappa Nayak (1552-1597) was a prominent ruler of the Nayak dynasty in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. He was responsible for the construction of several temples and played a significant role in the cultural and architectural development of the region.
Another notable figure was Tadan Ramanujan (1887-1920), an Indian mathematician who made groundbreaking contributions to the field of number theory and infinite series. His work has had a lasting impact on modern mathematics.
While these are a few examples of individuals who bore the name Tadan throughout history, it's important to note that the name's origins and usage can be traced back even further in the rich cultural heritage of southern India.
People
Tadan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tadan 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
Tadan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tadan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 112 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tadan 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 3,060,307 US residents.
Is Tadan a common name?
We classify Tadan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 114 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tadan most popular?
The single biggest year for Tadan was 2003, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tadan is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tadan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Tadan, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Tadan 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 Tadan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tadan leans strongly male. 111 people counted with this name were male (93.3%), compared with 8 female bearers (6.7%). 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 Tadan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tadan is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.1%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tadan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tadan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (81 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 Tadan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tadan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tadan 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 Tadan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tadan 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 Tadan 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 share the name Tadan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.