Taw
Of Arabic origin meaning "wanderer" or "nomad".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Taw. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Taw today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taw births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taw. 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 Taw. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#11,971
Tracked since 2017
Census
Taw in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 411 people with the first name Taw, which placed it at #23,711 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
#23,711
National first-name rank
People counted
411
411 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
83.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taw
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taw is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Taw 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 Taw at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander83.7% · 344
- White11.9% · 49
- Black or African American1.9% · 8
- Two or more races1.5% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Taw: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Taw 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 Taw during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Taw
The name Taw has its origins in the ancient Semitic languages, particularly in Aramaic and Arabic. The earliest known usage of the name can be traced back to the 1st century AD, where it was derived from the Aramaic word "taw," which means "to mark" or "to sign."
In Arabic, the name Taw (تاو) has a similar meaning, referring to the letter "taw" in the Arabic alphabet. This letter is often associated with concepts of completion, perfection, and protection, which may have influenced the name's usage and popularity in the Islamic world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Taw appears in the ancient Syriac text, the "Chronicle of Arbela," which dates back to the 5th century AD. This text mentions a Christian martyr named Taw who lived in Persia during the persecution of Christians under the Sassanid dynasty.
The name Taw also holds significance in Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah, where it represents the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet and is associated with the concept of truth and cosmic order. In some Kabbalistic traditions, the name Taw is believed to have protective qualities and is sometimes used in amulets or talismans.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Taw:
1. Taw Sein Ko (1892-1964), a prominent Burmese writer and journalist known for his contributions to the Burmese literary renaissance.
2. Taw Win (1915-1978), a Burmese politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Burma (now Myanmar) from 1962 to 1974.
3. Taw Nar (born 1949), a Burmese actor and filmmaker who has appeared in numerous Burmese and Thai films and television series.
4. Taw Naing (born 1965), a Burmese writer and activist who has been imprisoned multiple times for his pro-democracy and human rights advocacy.
5. Taw Sein (1909-1994), a Burmese artist and pioneer of modern Burmese painting, known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes.
While the name Taw has its roots in ancient cultures and languages, it has maintained a presence throughout history, with individuals from various backgrounds and professions bearing this unique moniker.
People
Taw + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taw 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
Taw: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taw?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taw 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Taw a common name?
We classify Taw as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taw most popular?
The single biggest year for Taw was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taw is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taw in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 411 people with the name Taw, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,711 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 Taw 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 Taw?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Taw on both sides of the split. Of the 415 people counted with this name, 285 were male (68.7%) and 130 were female (31.3%). 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 Taw?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taw is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Taw most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Taw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (344 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 Taw in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taw a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taw 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 Taw still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taw 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 Taw 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 Taw?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.