Tyger
A name derived from the British English spelling of "tiger".
Name Census estimates that about 489 living Americans carry the first name Tyger. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Tyger today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tyger births was 1997 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tyger. 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 Tyger with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
489
~ 1 in 700,929 Americans
Peak year
1997
31 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,193
Tracked since 1983
Census
Tyger in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 493 people with the first name Tyger, which placed it at #20,821 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
#20,821
National first-name rank
People counted
493
493 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tyger
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyger is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (13.8%). 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 Tyger 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 Tyger at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.8% · 221
- Black or African American18.7% · 92
- Two or more races13.8% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.9% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Tyger
Tyger leans heavily male at 88.2% of total registrations, but 59 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tyger as a male name
- Ranked #7,193 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (31 births)
Tyger as a female name
- Ranked #17,778 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1983 (29 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tyger on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 371 were male (75.1%) and 123 were female (24.9%).
Popularity
Tyger: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tyger from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 156 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Tyger remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tyger 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 Tyger during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tyger
The name Tyger is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, deriving from the word "tīger," which was used to refer to the fierce and powerful big cat we now know as the tiger. This word, in turn, can be traced back to the ancient Greek word "tīgris," which was borrowed from an Iranian source.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tyger dates back to the late 16th century, when it appeared in the works of the renowned English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. In his tragedy "King Lear," Shakespeare famously penned the line, "Tyger, tyger, burning bright," which became the opening of his poem "The Tyger," a meditation on the awe-inspiring and paradoxical nature of creation.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Tyger was Tyger Hart (1590-1642), an English soldier and explorer who was part of the Virginia Company's expeditions to the New World. He is recorded as having been one of the first Englishmen to establish a settlement in what is now the state of Virginia.
Another notable figure in history with the name Tyger was Tyger Rache (1624-1698), a German philosopher and theologian who was known for his contributions to the field of natural theology. His work sought to reconcile reason and faith, and he is considered a key figure in the development of the Enlightenment movement.
In the realm of literature, Tyger Parnell (1679-1718) was an Irish poet and essayist who was part of the Augustan Age of English literature. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and he was praised for his lyrical style and wit.
Moving into the 20th century, Tyger Clemens (1901-1985) was an American artist and sculptor who was part of the abstract expressionist movement. He is best known for his large-scale public sculptures, many of which can be found in cities across the United States.
While the name Tyger may have its roots in ancient languages and cultures, it has endured throughout history, carried by individuals who have made their mark in various fields, from exploration and philosophy to literature and art. The name's association with the powerful and majestic tiger has likely contributed to its enduring appeal and symbolic significance.
People
Tyger + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tyger 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
Tyger: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tyger?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 489 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tyger 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 700,929 US residents.
Is Tyger a common name?
We classify Tyger as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 498 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tyger most popular?
The single biggest year for Tyger was 1997, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tyger is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tyger in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 493 people with the name Tyger, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,821 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 Tyger 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 Tyger?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tyger on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 371 were male (75.1%) and 123 were female (24.9%). 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 Tyger?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyger is White at 44.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.7%) and Two or More Races (13.8%). 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 Tyger most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tyger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.8% (221 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 Tyger in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tyger a male name?
Yes, 88.2% of people registered as Tyger 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 Tyger still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tyger 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 Tyger 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 Tyger?
See how many people have the name Tyger on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.