Taigan
Of Turkish origin meaning "mountain dweller" or "mountaineer".
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Taigan. It is a predominantly female name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Taigan today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taigan births was 2011 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taigan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Taigan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Taigan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
2011
11 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2011 SSA rank
#14,089
Tracked since 2000
Gender
Gender distribution for Taigan
Taigan leans heavily female at 91.8% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Taigan as a male name
- Ranked #14,089 in 2011
- 5 male births in 2011
- Peak: 2011 (5 births)
Taigan as a female name
- Ranked #16,549 in 2011
- 6 female births in 2011
- Peak: 2004 (8 births)
Popularity
Taigan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taigan from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 44 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Taigan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taigan 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 Taigan 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 Taigan
The name Taigan has its origins in the ancient Turkic languages, which were spoken by nomadic tribes that roamed across the vast steppes of Central Asia. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries CE, when the Turkic peoples held sway over a vast empire stretching from the Black Sea to the borders of China.
Taigan is thought to be derived from the Turkic root word "taig," which means "mountain" or "highland." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals born in the mountainous regions of Central Asia, or perhaps to those who displayed strength and resilience akin to the rugged terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Taigan can be found in the epic literary work known as the "Book of Dede Korkut," a collection of legends and stories that date back to the 9th or 10th century. In this work, Taigan is mentioned as the name of a heroic warrior, though details about his life and exploits are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Taigan. One of the most prominent was Taigan Khan (1338-1391), a ruler of the Golden Horde, a powerful Mongol-Turkic khanate that controlled vast territories in Eastern Europe and Central Asia during the 14th century.
Another historical figure with the name Taigan was Taigan Beg (1456-1523), a military commander and statesman who served under the Timurid Empire in present-day Afghanistan and Central Asia. He played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the empire's territories during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
In the realm of literature, Taigan Alim (1892-1957) was a renowned Kazakh poet and writer who made significant contributions to the development of modern Kazakh literature. His works often explored themes of national identity, cultural heritage, and the struggles of the Kazakh people.
Moving forward in time, Taigan Nurmukhanov (1923-2008) was a celebrated Kazakh artist and sculptor whose work helped to define the aesthetic and cultural identity of his country during the 20th century. His monumental sculptures and public art installations can be found in cities across Kazakhstan.
Finally, Taigan Sydykov (1928-2003) was a prominent Kyrgyz politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Kyrgyz Republic following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. He played a pivotal role in guiding his nation through the turbulent transition to sovereignty and statehood.
People
Taigan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taigan 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
Taigan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taigan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taigan 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 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Taigan a common name?
We classify Taigan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taigan most popular?
The single biggest year for Taigan was 2011, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taigan is about 20 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 Taigan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taigan a female name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Taigan 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 Taigan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taigan 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 Taigan 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 people are named Taigan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.