girl's name
Tabitha
TAB-ith-uh
- Origin Aramaic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 67,475
England and Wales
#306
2025 births
Tabitha means gazelle, and it is Aramaic rather than Hebrew — one of a small set of New Testament names from the everyday language of first-century Judaea. England ranks it 306th, its strongest market.
- Tabitha is a name of Aramaic origin.
- Peaked in 1978, when 2,324 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,388 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Tabitha over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 50 |
| 1890s | 73 |
| 1900s | 44 |
| 1910s | 95 |
| 1920s | 83 |
| 1930s | 66 |
| 1940s | 74 |
| 1950s | 150 |
| 1960s | 2,409 |
| 1970s | 12,006 |
| 1980s | 19,660 |
| 1990s | 13,690 |
| 2000s | 6,843 |
| 2010s | 3,163 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 940 |
What Tabitha means
Tabitha means a gazelle. The Aramaic tabita names the animal directly, and the Greek text supplies its own translation, which is unusual for a personal name.
Where Tabitha comes from
Tabitha is the Aramaic tabita, a gazelle, and Acts is explicit about it: a disciple at Joppa is named Tabitha, which the text immediately glosses as Dorcas, the Greek for the same animal. That double-naming is rare and tells you Aramaic was the spoken language while Greek was the written one. She is the only woman in Acts called a disciple in the feminine, and Peter raises her from the dead. Thomas and Martha are from the same language.
Tabitha in use
Tabitha peaked in the United States in 1978, when 2,324 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 306th in England and Wales on 143 births — its strongest market — then 425th in Northern Ireland, 668th in Scotland on 4, 952nd in Ireland and 1300th in the United States on 171, across 67,475 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Tabitha?
In 2025, Tabitha was given to 171 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Tabitha is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Tabitha
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Tabitha also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Tabitha over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Tabitha
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Tabitha in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Tabitha
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Tabitha — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Tabitha
What does the name Tabitha mean?
A gazelle — the Aramaic tabita.
Is Dorcas the same name?
Yes — Acts glosses Tabitha as Dorcas, the Greek word for the same animal.
Which other names are Aramaic?
Thomas, Martha, Tabitha and Cephas — from the everyday language of first-century Judaea.
Where is Tabitha most used?
England and Wales at 306th, well above the United States at 1300th.
How popular is the name Tabitha?
In 2025, Tabitha was given to 171 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Tabitha a girl's or a boy's name?
Tabitha is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Tabitha?
Tabitha has 3 syllables.
When was Tabitha most popular?
Tabitha peaked in 1978, when 2,324 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Tabitha?
Tabitha is usually shortened to Tabby.
Is Tabitha a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Tabitha currently ranks #306 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.