Tarzan
A masculine given name referring to the fictional character and his ape-like nature.
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Tarzan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tarzan today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarzan births was 2007 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarzan. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tarzan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
2007
5 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,965
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Tarzan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarzan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 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
Tarzan 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 Tarzan 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 Tarzan
The name Tarzan is a fictional name that first appeared in the novel "Tarzan of the Apes" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs and published in 1912. The name is not derived from any specific language or culture, but rather was invented by Burroughs for the character of Tarzan, a feral child raised by apes in the African jungle.
Burroughs likely chose the name Tarzan for its exotic and primal sound, which fits the character's wild upbringing and connection to nature. The name has no known historical references or appearances in ancient texts or religious scriptures prior to the publication of Burroughs' novel.
Since its creation, the name Tarzan has become closely associated with the iconic character from Burroughs' novels and subsequent adaptations in films, television shows, and other media. While Tarzan is not a real person, the name has gained significant cultural recognition and symbolism, representing themes of survival, strength, and humanity's connection to the natural world.
Over the years, various actors have portrayed the character of Tarzan on screen, including Johnny Weissmuller, who played the role in numerous films from the 1930s to the 1940s. Other notable actors who have portrayed Tarzan include Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Christopher Lambert.
While the name Tarzan is not commonly used as a given name for real individuals, it has occasionally been adopted as a nickname or stage name by a few notable people, such as Tarzan Zed, a professional wrestler from the 1960s, and Tarzan Meyers, a football player in the 1920s.
People
Tarzan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarzan 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
Tarzan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarzan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarzan 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Tarzan a common name?
We classify Tarzan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarzan most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarzan was 2007, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarzan is about 10 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 Tarzan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarzan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarzan 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 Tarzan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarzan 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 Tarzan 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 have Tarzan as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.