Tee
A nickname derived from the masculine given name Thomas, meaning "twin".
Name Census estimates that about 320 living Americans carry the first name Tee. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Tee today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tee births was 1982 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tee. 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
320
~ 1 in 1,071,107 Americans
Peak year
1982
16 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,081
Tracked since 1910
Gender
Gender distribution for Tee
Tee leans heavily male at 88.9% of total registrations, but 51 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tee as a male name
- Ranked #12,081 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1984 (12 births)
Tee as a female name
- Ranked #12,143 in 1982
- 5 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1959 (7 births)
Popularity
Tee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tee from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tee 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 Tee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tee
The name Tee has its roots in the Thai language, originating from the word "Thi" which means "air" or "wind." This name is believed to have been used in Thailand as early as the 12th century AD, during the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
In Thai culture, the name Tee was often given to children as a way to represent the qualities of freedom, lightness, and fluidity. It was a popular name among the Thai nobility and upper classes, who valued these attributes as signs of grace and refinement.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Tee can be found in the Ramakian, an ancient Thai epic poem that dates back to the 18th century. In this text, Tee is mentioned as the name of a character, although the specific details of this character remain unclear.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tee. One of the most famous was Tee Bunnag (1808-1898), a Thai diplomat and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Siam (now Thailand) during the reign of King Rama IV. He was instrumental in modernizing the country and establishing diplomatic relations with Western powers.
Another prominent figure was Tee Grizzard (1895-1994), an American baseball player who spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers. He was known for his batting prowess and was a member of the Tigers' World Series championship team in 1935.
In the literary world, Tee Corinne (1943-2006) was a renowned American author and poet. Her works often explored themes of identity, race, and feminism, and she was a prominent figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
The name Tee has also been carried by notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry. Tee Hee (1920-1998) was a popular Thai actor and comedian who starred in numerous films and television shows throughout his career, becoming a beloved cultural icon in Thailand.
Lastly, Tee Ridley (1952-2022) was a British screenwriter and film director best known for his work on the critically acclaimed film "12 Years a Slave," for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2014.
While the name Tee has its origins in Thai culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and nationalities, each adding their own unique chapter to the rich history of this name.
People
Tee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tee 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
Tee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 320 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tee 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 1,071,107 US residents.
Is Tee a common name?
We classify Tee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 458 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tee most popular?
The single biggest year for Tee was 1982, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tee is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tee a male name?
Yes, 88.9% of people registered as Tee 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.
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.