Talley
Surname derived from a Norman-French location name.
Name Census estimates that about 371 living Americans carry the first name Talley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Talley today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Talley births was 2000 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Talley. 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
371
~ 1 in 923,866 Americans
Peak year
2000
17 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
1975 SSA rank
#5,382
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Talley
Talley leans heavily female at 81.3% of total registrations, but 81 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Talley as a male name
- Ranked #5,382 in 1975
- 6 male births in 1975
- Peak: 1919 (9 births)
Talley as a female name
- Ranked #10,975 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (17 births)
Popularity
Talley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Talley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 111 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
Talley 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 Talley 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 Talley
The name Talley is believed to have originated from the Old English language, derived from the word "tālian," which means "to count" or "to reckon." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially used to refer to someone whose occupation involved counting or record-keeping.
In the early medieval period, the name Talley was primarily found in areas of England, particularly in the southern and central regions. It is likely that the name was initially used as a surname or occupational descriptor before eventually becoming a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Talley can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property conducted in 1086 under the reign of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions several individuals with the surname "Talley" or variations thereof, indicating that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Talley. One of the earliest recorded was Sir John Talley, an English knight who lived in the 14th century and served as a member of the household of King Edward III. Sir John Talley participated in several military campaigns during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, there was Thomas Talley, an English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1535 and served as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford.
During the American Revolutionary War, there was Silas Talley, a soldier and patriot who fought in the Continental Army. Silas Talley was born in 1751 in Virginia and participated in several key battles, including the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
In the realm of literature, one notable figure was William Talley, an English poet and dramatist who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Talley was known for his works such as "The Tragedy of Mariam" and "The History of Scanderbeg," which explored themes of love, betrayal, and historical figures.
Another prominent individual with the name Talley was Sarah Talley, an American educator and activist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1858, Sarah Talley was a pioneer in the field of vocational education and worked tirelessly to promote educational opportunities for women and underprivileged communities.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Talley, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human achievement.
People
Talley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Talley 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
Talley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Talley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 371 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Talley 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 923,866 US residents.
Is Talley a common name?
We classify Talley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 433 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Talley most popular?
The single biggest year for Talley was 2000, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Talley is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Talley a female name?
Yes, 81.3% of people registered as Talley 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.