Tazewell
A masculine name of Native American origin meaning "surging or flowing".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Tazewell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tazewell today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tazewell births was 1947 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tazewell. 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
- • The typical person named Tazewell is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Tazewells were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tazewell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1947
5 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1947 SSA rank
#4,209
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Tazewell: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tazewell 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 Tazewell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tazewell
The name Tazewell is an English place name derived from the Old English words "taeze" meaning "rush" or "bulrush" and "well" meaning a spring or stream. It originated as a place name referring to a location with an abundance of rushes growing near a water source.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tazewell as a given name dates back to the 17th century in England. It was likely adopted as a personal name by families living in or near places bearing the name Tazewell.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Tazewell was Sir Walter Tazewell, an English politician who lived from 1628 to 1701. He served as a member of parliament for the constituency of Oxford in the late 17th century.
Another notable figure with the name Tazewell was Henry Tazewell, an American politician and lawyer who lived from 1753 to 1799. He served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia and was instrumental in the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
In the 19th century, Littleton Waller Tazewell, born in 1774 and died in 1860, was a prominent American politician and lawyer from Virginia. He served as a U.S. Senator, Governor of Virginia, and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Tazewell Tyler, born in 1859 and died in 1921, was an American lawyer and politician from Virginia. He served as the 41st Governor of Virginia from 1914 to 1918.
Another notable bearer of the name was Tazewell Ellett, an American lawyer and Civil War veteran who lived from 1835 to 1908. He served as the Confederate States Attorney General during the American Civil War.
While the name Tazewell has its origins in England, it has been more commonly used as a given name in the United States, particularly in Virginia and other parts of the American South, likely due to the influence of early settlers from England who brought the name with them.
People
Tazewell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tazewell 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
Tazewell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tazewell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tazewell 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Tazewell a common name?
We classify Tazewell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tazewell most popular?
The single biggest year for Tazewell was 1947, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tazewell is about 79 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 Tazewell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tazewell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tazewell 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 Tazewell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tazewell 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 Tazewell 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 the name Tazewell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.