Tais
An alternate transcription of the Greek name Thaïs, meaning "goddess of peace".
Name Census estimates that about 402 living Americans carry the first name Tais. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tais today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tais births was 2001 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tais. 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
402
~ 1 in 852,623 Americans
Peak year
2001
95 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2015 SSA rank
#14,340
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Tais: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tais 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 322 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
Tais 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 Tais during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tais' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Tais, while New Jersey, Illinois, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tais
The name Tais has its origins in ancient Greek culture, dating back to the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "thaïs," which means "a woman from Thaïs," referring to the ancient region of Thrace in modern-day Greece and Bulgaria.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tais can be found in the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato, who mentioned a courtesan named Tais in his work "The Symposium." This Tais was a renowned beauty and companion of the Athenian general Ptolemy I, who later became the ruler of Egypt.
In ancient Greek mythology, Tais was also the name of a nymph associated with the goddess Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. This connection to nature and the divine realm may have contributed to the name's popularity in ancient times.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Tais was Tais of Alexandria, a renowned Greek courtesan who lived in the 4th century BC. She was known for her beauty, wit, and influence over powerful men, including the Macedonian king Alexander the Great.
Another notable Tais in history was Tais of Miletus, a Greek musician and dancer who lived in the 5th century BC. She was renowned for her performances and is mentioned in the writings of several ancient authors, including Herodotus and Athenaeus.
In the 16th century, the Italian poet and playwright Giambattista Giraldi Cinzio wrote a tragedy titled "Tais," which dramatized the life of the ancient courtesan. This work helped to keep the name alive in literary circles during the Renaissance period.
Other notable individuals named Tais throughout history include Tais Araújo, a Brazilian actress and model born in 1979, and Tais Valente, a Brazilian mixed martial artist born in 1985.
Overall, the name Tais has a rich history spanning over two millennia, with roots in ancient Greek culture, mythology, and literature, as well as later literary and artistic works that have helped to preserve its legacy.
People
Tais + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tais 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
Tais: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tais?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tais 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 852,623 US residents.
Is Tais a common name?
We classify Tais as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tais most popular?
The single biggest year for Tais was 2001, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tais is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tais a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tais 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.
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.