Tal
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "morning dew".
Name Census estimates that about 1,696 living Americans carry the first name Tal. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Tal today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tal births was 1963 (94 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tal. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 202,096 Americans
Peak year
1963
94 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,137
Tracked since 1937
Gender
Gender distribution for Tal
Tal is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,797 total registrations, 1,254 (69.8%) were male and 543 (30.2%) were female.
Tal as a male name
- Ranked #12,137 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1963 (87 births)
Tal as a female name
- Ranked #17,691 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1989 (23 births)
Popularity
Tal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tal from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 430 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tal 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 Tal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tal, while Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tal
The name Tal has its origins in Hebrew and Arabic languages. It is a masculine given name that has been in use for centuries.
In Hebrew, the name Tal is derived from the word "tal" which means "dew" or "morning dew." It is associated with freshness, purity, and renewal. The name has been mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in the Book of Job, where it is used as a metaphor for the transient nature of life.
In Arabic, the name Tal has a similar meaning, referring to "dew" or "moisture." It is also related to the word "tala'a," meaning "to rise" or "to ascend," symbolizing growth and progress.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tal is Tal ben Reuben, a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Numbers as one of the leaders of the Israelite tribe of Gad during the Exodus from Egypt.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tal. One of the most famous is Tal Wilkenfeld, an Australian bassist and singer who has collaborated with renowned musicians like Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock. She was born in 1986.
Another prominent figure is Tal Brody, an Israeli-American basketball player who led the Israeli national team to victory in the 1977 European Basketball Championship. He was born in 1943 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Israeli basketball history.
Tal Hanani was an Israeli artist and sculptor known for his large-scale public sculptures. He was born in 1938 and his works can be found in various cities around the world, including Jerusalem and New York.
Tal Rosner is an Israeli computer scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded the cybersecurity company CyberArk. He was born in 1973 and has been recognized for his contributions to the field of information security.
In ancient times, Tal Shilhav was a prominent figure in ancient Israel during the reign of King David, serving as one of his military commanders and advisors, as mentioned in the Books of Samuel and Chronicles.
People
Tal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tal 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
Tal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,696 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tal 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 202,096 US residents.
Is Tal a common name?
We classify Tal as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,797 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tal most popular?
The single biggest year for Tal was 1963, when 94 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tal is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tal a male name?
Yes, 69.8% of people registered as Tal 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.
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.