Tavish
A masculine English given name of Scottish origin meaning "prosperous traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 750 living Americans carry the first name Tavish. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Tavish today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tavish births was 1993 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tavish. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tavish with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
750
~ 1 in 457,006 Americans
Peak year
1993
35 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,614
Tracked since 1970
Census
Tavish in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 632 people with the first name Tavish, which placed it at #17,453 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
#17,453
National first-name rank
People counted
632
632 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tavish
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tavish is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.8%). 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 Tavish 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 Tavish at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 384
- Black or African American15.7% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.8% · 81
- Two or more races4.9% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Tavish
Out of the 764 babies given the name Tavish since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Tavish as a male name
- Ranked #5,614 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (35 births)
Tavish as a female name
- Ranked #9,207 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1970 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tavish leans strongly male. 580 people counted with this name were male (91.3%), compared with 55 female bearers (8.7%).
Popularity
Tavish: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tavish from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 210 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tavish remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tavish 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 Tavish during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tavishs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Tennessee, Washington recorded the most babies named Tavish, while Washington, Tennessee, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tavish
The name Tavish is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Tàmhas, which is itself a variant of the name Thomas. The name Thomas ultimately derives from the Aramaic name Te'oma, meaning "twin." The earliest recorded use of the name Tavish can be traced back to the 16th century in Scotland.
In Scottish history, the name Tavish was particularly popular among the clans of the Highlands. One notable figure was Tavish MacIver, a 17th-century warrior who fought for the Clan MacIver during the Scottish Civil War. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to the clan.
Another historical figure bearing the name Tavish was Tavish MacLeod, a Scottish poet and scholar who lived in the late 18th century. He was renowned for his contributions to the preservation of Gaelic language and culture, and his works were widely studied and celebrated.
In the 19th century, Tavish McTavish was a prominent Scottish businessman and trader who established a successful trading company in the Canadian fur trade. He played a significant role in the economic development of the region and left a lasting legacy.
Moving into the 20th century, Tavish Bulloch was a Scottish architect who designed several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including the Balmoral Hotel. His works are celebrated for their unique blend of traditional Scottish and modern architectural styles.
Lastly, Tavish Finnie was a Scottish actor and playwright who gained recognition for his performances on stage and screen in the late 20th century. He was particularly known for his portrayal of iconic Scottish characters and his commitment to promoting Scottish culture through his artistic endeavors.
While the name Tavish has Scottish roots, it has also been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries with strong Scottish heritage. However, the historical and cultural significance of the name remains deeply rooted in the traditions and legacy of Scotland.
People
Tavish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tavish 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
Tavish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tavish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 750 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tavish 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 457,006 US residents.
Is Tavish a common name?
We classify Tavish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 764 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tavish most popular?
The single biggest year for Tavish was 1993, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tavish is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tavish in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 632 people with the name Tavish, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,453 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 Tavish 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 Tavish?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tavish leans strongly male. 580 people counted with this name were male (91.3%), compared with 55 female bearers (8.7%). 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 Tavish?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tavish is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.8%). 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 Tavish most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tavish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (384 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 Tavish in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tavish a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Tavish 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 Tavish still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tavish 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 Tavish 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 common is the name Tavish?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Tavish at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.