boy's name
Tate
TAYT
- Origin Norse
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 33,525
the United States
#194
2025 births
Tate is a boy's name of Old Norse origin meaning "cheerful." It comes from teitr, glad — and unlike Tatum, whose "cheerful" reading appears to be invented, this one is securely attested.
- Tate is a name of Norse origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 2,022 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,640 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1912.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Tate over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 53 |
| 1920s | 59 |
| 1930s | 20 |
| 1940s | 44 |
| 1950s | 42 |
| 1960s | 295 |
| 1970s | 820 |
| 1980s | 692 |
| 1990s | 3,058 |
| 2000s | 6,918 |
| 2010s | 7,588 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 9,366 |
What Tate means
Tate means cheerful or glad, from the Old Norse teitr. The word describes an outward good humour rather than contentment, and it is securely attested.
Where Tate comes from
Tate descends from the Old Norse teitr, cheerful or glad, used as a byname by Scandinavian settlers in England and surviving as a surname in the north and east. It may also draw on the Old English personal name Tata, which is where Tatum comes from — but the Norse derivation is the documented one, and this is why Tate has a real claim to cheerful while Tatum does not. Tate Britain and Tate Modern are named for Henry Tate, the sugar merchant whose collection founded the gallery in 1897.
Tate in use
Our data shows Tate rising and it first appears in our records in 1912. It sits alongside Tatum on this site with an instructive difference: the meaning universally given to Tatum is unsupported, while the same meaning for Tate is soundly attested — the two are not variants of one name.
How popular is Tate?
In 2025, Tate was given to 2,022 babies in the United States, ranking #194 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Tate 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 Tate
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Tate also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Tate over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Tate 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 Tate
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Tate — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Tate
What does the name Tate mean?
Tate means "cheerful," from the Old Norse teitr, glad.
Is Tate short for Tatum?
No. Tate is Norse and securely means cheerful; Tatum is an English place name whose cheerful reading is unsupported.
Is Tate Britain named after the name?
After Henry Tate, the sugar merchant whose collection founded the gallery in 1897.
How popular is the name Tate?
In 2025, Tate was given to 2,022 babies in the United States, ranking #194 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Tate a girl's or a boy's name?
Tate is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Tate?
Tate has 1 syllable.
When was Tate most popular?
Tate peaked in 2025, when 2,022 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Tate a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Tate currently ranks #194 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.