Tabby
A feminine name derived from the pattern of striped fur markings.
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Tabby. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Tabby today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tabby births was 1971 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tabby. 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
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1971
19 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1960 SSA rank
#4,544
Tracked since 1955
Census
Tabby in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606 people with the first name Tabby, which placed it at #17,943 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
#17,943
National first-name rank
People counted
606
606 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tabby
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tabby is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.1%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Tabby 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 Tabby at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 453
- Black or African American9.1% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 37
- Two or more races5.6% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Tabby
Tabby leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tabby as a male name
- Ranked #4,544 in 1960
- 5 male births in 1960
- Peak: 1960 (5 births)
Tabby as a female name
- Ranked #9,112 in 1976
- 6 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1971 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tabby leans strongly female. 583 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 23 male bearers (3.8%).
Popularity
Tabby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tabby from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 81 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Tabby remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tabby 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 Tabby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tabbys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tabby
The given name Tabby is thought to have originated as a diminutive form of the feminine name Tabitha, which itself is derived from the Aramaic name Tavitha, meaning "gazelle" or "deer." The name Tavitha likely emerged during the time of the Aramaic Empire, which spanned from the 8th century BCE to the 7th century CE and encompassed regions of the Middle East, including parts of modern-day Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tabitha can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, in the Acts of the Apostles. Here, Tabitha is described as a disciple who lived in the ancient city of Joppa (modern-day Jaffa, Israel) and was known for her charitable works and kindness. When she fell ill and died, the apostle Peter is said to have resurrected her, earning her the title "Dorcas" in Greek, which also means "gazelle."
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the diminutive form Tabby was Tabby Tench (c. 1508 - c. 1592), an English nun and writer who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. She is notable for her work "The Honey-Tasting," a collection of spiritual meditations and reflections.
During the 17th century, the name Tabby gained popularity in parts of New England, likely due to the influence of Puritan settlers. One notable bearer of the name was Tabby Tenney (1672 - 1736), an early settler of Rowley, Massachusetts, who is remembered for her role in the establishment of the town's first church and her commitment to education.
In the 18th century, Tabby Whale (1737 - 1816) was a British actress and singer who performed on the London stage, often appearing in comedic roles. She was known for her talents as a mimic and her ability to capture the mannerisms of various social classes.
In the 19th century, Tabby Aykroyd (1856 - 1924) was a Canadian writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education. She is particularly remembered for her work in establishing the Women's Art Association of Canada and her efforts to promote female artists and writers.
People
Tabby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tabby 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
Tabby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tabby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tabby 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Tabby a common name?
We classify Tabby as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tabby most popular?
The single biggest year for Tabby was 1971, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tabby is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tabby in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606 people with the name Tabby, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,943 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 Tabby 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 Tabby?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tabby leans strongly female. 583 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 23 male 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 Tabby?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tabby is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.1%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Tabby most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tabby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (453 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 Tabby in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tabby a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Tabby in the SSA data are female. 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 Tabby still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tabby 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 Tabby 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 people have Tabby as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.