Tyke
A diminutive form of "Tyler", meaning a little wolf or cub.
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Tyke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tyke today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tyke births was 2009 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tyke. 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
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
2009
13 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,767
Tracked since 1968
Census
Tyke in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 275 people with the first name Tyke, which placed it at #31,234 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
#31,234
National first-name rank
People counted
275
275 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tyke
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyke is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Tyke 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 Tyke at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 201
- Black or African American13.8% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 12
- Two or more races3.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 6
Popularity
Tyke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tyke from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tyke 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 Tyke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tykes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tyke
The name Tyke is believed to have its origins in the Middle English word "tike," which was used to refer to a large and fierce breed of dog, particularly a hunting dog or a cur. This term is thought to have derived from an older Norse word, "tík," meaning a bitch or a female dog.
In its earliest usage, the name Tyke was likely a nickname or a descriptive term applied to individuals who were perceived as having aggressive, tenacious, or hardy qualities, akin to those associated with a formidable hunting dog. It may have been used to describe someone with a fierce temperament or a strong physical presence.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Tyke can be traced back to the late 14th century in various English records and documents. One notable individual who bore this name was Tyke of Beverley, a legendary English outlaw and folk hero who was active in the late 14th or early 15th century. According to legends, he was a skilled archer and leader of a band of outlaws who robbed from the rich and aided the poor, much like the famous Robin Hood.
Another historical figure who carried the name Tyke was Tyke Tiler, a rebel leader during the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381. He played a significant role in leading the rebel forces and was among those who stormed the Tower of London during the uprising.
In the 16th century, a man named Tyke Neville was recorded as serving as a Captain of the Guard for King Henry VIII of England. He was a member of the influential Neville family and was entrusted with the protection of the monarch during a time of political turmoil.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Tyke Tullett was a notable English boxer and bare-knuckle fighter who competed in prize fights during the early days of the sport's popularity. He was known for his tenacity and toughness in the ring, qualities that aligned with the name's original connotations.
In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals to bear the name Tyke was Tyke Dillard, an American football player who played as a running back for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s. He was born in 1941 and had a successful career, earning recognition as a Pro Bowl selection in 1965.
While the name Tyke may have initially carried associations with aggression and fierceness, it has evolved over time to become a unique and distinctive moniker, often chosen for its distinctive sound and historical connections to courage and perseverance.
People
Tyke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tyke 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
Tyke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tyke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tyke 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Tyke a common name?
We classify Tyke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tyke most popular?
The single biggest year for Tyke was 2009, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tyke is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tyke in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 275 people with the name Tyke, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,234 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 Tyke 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 Tyke?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tyke leans strongly male. 253 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 10 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Tyke?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyke is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Tyke most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tyke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (201 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 Tyke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tyke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tyke 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 Tyke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tyke 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 Tyke 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 Americans are named Tyke?
See how many people have the name Tyke on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.