Tyker
A diminutive form of the English surname Tyler, derived from occupational name for a tiler.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Tyker. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tyker today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tyker births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tyker. 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 Tyker. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#14,202
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Tyker: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tyker 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 Tyker 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 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tyker
The name Tyker is believed to have its origins in the Old Norse language, spoken by the Vikings and other Germanic tribes that inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the early medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "tykr," which means "hammer" or "mallet." This suggests that the name may have been originally given to individuals who were skilled in blacksmithing or other trades involving metalworking.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tyker can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of narratives that recount the lives and adventures of Norse settlers in Iceland during the 9th and 10th centuries. In the Saga of Gisli the Outlaw, a character named Tyker is mentioned as a skilled warrior and chieftain who lived in the late 10th century.
As the Vikings and other Germanic peoples spread throughout Europe during the early medieval period, the name Tyker likely traveled with them. In the 11th century, a Norwegian nobleman named Tyker Arnason is recorded as one of the early settlers of Greenland, having accompanied the explorer Erik the Red on his voyages to the island.
In the 13th century, a German knight named Tyker von Rüdesheim is mentioned in the chronicles of the Crusades, having participated in the Fifth Crusade and the siege of Damietta in Egypt in 1219. This suggests that the name had spread to central Europe by this time and was being used among the nobility and military classes.
Another notable figure bearing the name Tyker was a Danish sailor and explorer named Tyker Rasmussen, who is believed to have been one of the first Europeans to set foot in the Americas. According to some accounts, Rasmussen sailed with the Norse expeditions to Vinland (present-day Newfoundland) in the early 11th century, predating the voyages of Christopher Columbus by several centuries.
During the late medieval and early modern periods, the name Tyker appears to have fallen out of common usage in most parts of Europe. However, it may have persisted in certain regions or among specific families or communities. For example, historical records from the 17th century mention a Swedish farmer named Tyker Andersson who lived in the village of Östergötland.
People
Tyker + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tyker 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
Tyker: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tyker?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tyker 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Tyker a common name?
We classify Tyker as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% 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 Tyker most popular?
The single biggest year for Tyker was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tyker is about 15 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 Tyker in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tyker a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tyker 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 Tyker still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tyker 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 Tyker 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 share the name Tyker?
Want to know how many people have the name Tyker? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.