Tully
A name with Irish roots, possibly derived from a Gaelic phrase meaning "peaceful hill".
Name Census estimates that about 949 living Americans carry the first name Tully. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Tully today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tully births was 2023 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tully. 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
949
~ 1 in 361,174 Americans
Peak year
2023
49 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,941
Tracked since 1900
Gender
Gender distribution for Tully
Tully leans heavily male at 85.3% of total registrations, but 178 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tully as a male name
- Ranked #10,786 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (24 births)
Tully as a female name
- Ranked #3,941 in 2024
- 38 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (38 births)
Popularity
Tully: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tully from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 188 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
Tully 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 Tully during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tullys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tully
The name Tully is an English surname that can also be used as a given name. It has its origins in the ancient Latin name Tullius, which was derived from the Latin word "tullus" meaning "a water spring" or "a small hill". The earliest known reference to the name Tully can be found in ancient Roman texts, where it was used as a family name for several notable individuals.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Tully was Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), a renowned Roman statesman, philosopher, and orator. Cicero's writings and speeches have had a profound influence on Western literature and political thought throughout the centuries.
Another notable figure with the name Tully was Servius Tullius (578 BC - 535 BC), the sixth king of Rome. He is credited with introducing several important reforms during his reign, including the establishment of the Roman census and the reorganization of the Roman army.
In the Middle Ages, the name Tully was also associated with the English philosopher and statesman Thomas Tully (1474 - 1536), who served as the Secretary of State under King Henry VIII. Tully was a prominent figure in the English Reformation and played a significant role in the dissolution of monasteries in England.
During the Renaissance period, the Italian humanist and philosopher Giacomo Tully (1369 - 1437) was known for his contributions to the revival of classical learning and his translations of ancient Greek texts into Latin.
In more recent history, Tully Shawn (1911 - 1992) was an American actor and playwright, best known for his work in the theatre and his collaborations with his brother-in-law, the renowned playwright Eugene O'Neill.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Tully. While the name may have originated as a Roman surname, it has been adopted as a given name in various cultures and continues to be used to this day.
People
Tully + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tully 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
Tully: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tully?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 949 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tully 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 361,174 US residents.
Is Tully a common name?
We classify Tully as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tully most popular?
The single biggest year for Tully was 2023, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tully is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tully a male name?
Yes, 85.3% of people registered as Tully 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.