Taliesin
A Welsh masculine name derived from the words "tal" (brow) and "iesin" (radiant).
Name Census estimates that about 239 living Americans carry the first name Taliesin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Taliesin today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taliesin births was 2021 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taliesin. 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 Taliesin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
239
~ 1 in 1,434,119 Americans
Peak year
2021
23 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,750
Tracked since 1993
Census
Taliesin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Taliesin, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taliesin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taliesin is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and Hispanic (7.7%). 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 Taliesin 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 Taliesin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 169
- Two or more races10.4% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 17
- Black or African American2.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Popularity
Taliesin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taliesin from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 74 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taliesin 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 Taliesin 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 Taliesin
The name Taliesin originates from the Welsh language and Welsh mythology. It is believed to have derived from the Welsh words "tal" meaning "brow" or "front," and "iesin" meaning "handsome" or "fair." The name can be interpreted to mean "fair brow" or "fair front."
The name is most closely associated with the legendary Welsh bard and mythological figure, Taliesin, who is believed to have lived in the 6th century AD. He is renowned as one of the earliest poets of the Welsh language and is considered a chief of bards. Taliesin's life and works are recorded in the Book of Taliesin, which is part of the medieval Welsh manuscript collection known as the Red Book of Hergest.
The earliest recorded use of the name Taliesin can be traced back to the 6th century AD, with the legendary bard himself. However, it is important to note that the historical accuracy of Taliesin's existence and the details surrounding his life are subject to scholarly debate.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Taliesin. One of the most famous was Taliesin Williams (1787-1847), a Welsh poet and literary critic who played a significant role in the Welsh literary renaissance of the 19th century. Another notable figure was Taliesin ab Iwerydd (fl. c. 550), a Welsh poet and historical figure who is mentioned in the Book of Taliesin.
In the realm of arts and culture, Taliesin was the name given to the personal residence and studio of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright chose the name in honor of the legendary Welsh bard, reflecting his admiration for the figure's creativity and connection to nature.
Other notable individuals named Taliesin include Taliesin Jaffe (born 1974), an American voice actor and writer, and Taliesin Thomas (1949-1977), a Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Overall, the name Taliesin holds a rich cultural and historical significance, deeply rooted in Welsh mythology and literature, and has been borne by numerous influential figures across various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Taliesin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taliesin 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
Taliesin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taliesin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 239 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taliesin 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 1,434,119 US residents.
Is Taliesin a common name?
We classify Taliesin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 242 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taliesin most popular?
The single biggest year for Taliesin was 2021, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taliesin is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taliesin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Taliesin, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Taliesin 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 Taliesin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taliesin leans strongly male. 183 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 42 female bearers (18.7%). 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 Taliesin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taliesin is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and Hispanic (7.7%). 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 Taliesin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Taliesin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (169 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 Taliesin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taliesin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taliesin 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 Taliesin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taliesin 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 Taliesin 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 are named Taliesin?
See how many people have the name Taliesin on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.