unisex name
Taylor
TAY-lor
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 505,164
the United States
#403
2025 births
Taylor is an occupational surname meaning one who cuts cloth, now used mostly for girls at 72 percent female. It charts in all seven markets we track, which almost nothing else in this group manages.
- Taylor is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1993, when 28,958 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,834 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Taylor started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Taylor 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 | 276 |
| 1890s | 264 |
| 1900s | 282 |
| 1910s | 882 |
| 1920s | 976 |
| 1930s | 730 |
| 1940s | 772 |
| 1950s | 898 |
| 1960s | 1,055 |
| 1970s | 2,864 |
| 1980s | 33,043 |
| 1990s | 227,448 |
| 2000s | 118,667 |
| 2010s | 45,371 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,158 |
What Taylor means
Taylor means a tailor, one who cuts and sews cloth. The word comes from a verb meaning to cut, so the trade is named for the cutting rather than the sewing.
Where Taylor comes from
Taylor is an occupational surname from the Old French tailleur, a cutter, from taillier, to cut — the same root as the English tally and the French tailler. It named the tradesman by the skilled part of his work: cutting cloth economically from a bolt was the expertise, and stitching was comparatively unskilled. As a given name it is American and twentieth-century, part of the surname wave that also produced Tyler and Parker, and it began as a boys' name before shifting decisively female through the 1990s. Its rise peaks in 1993, a decade before the singer most people now associate with it was known.
Taylor in use
Taylor peaked in the United States in 1993, when 28,958 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in all seven markets — 230th in Scotland on 26 births, 245th in Northern Ireland, 369th in Canada, 403rd in the United States on 1,170, 464th in Ireland, 509th in England and Wales on 96 and 692nd in France on 80 — across 505,164 lifetime births. About 72 percent of recorded births are female, and the seven-market spread is unusually even for a name of American origin.
How popular is Taylor?
In 2025, Taylor was given to 1,170 babies in the United States, ranking #403 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Taylor 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 Taylor
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Taylor also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Taylor over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Taylor
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.
Taylor 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 Taylor
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Taylor — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Taylor
What does the name Taylor mean?
A tailor — from the Old French taillier, to cut, naming the skilled part of the trade.
Is Taylor a boys' or girls' name?
Both. It began as a boys' name and is now about 72 percent female in our data.
Where is Taylor used?
All six markets we track, from 230th in Scotland to 692nd in France — an unusually even spread.
How popular is Taylor?
403rd in the United States, down from a 1993 peak of 28,958 births.
How many syllables are in Taylor?
Taylor has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Taylor?
Taylor is usually shortened to Tay.
Is Taylor a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Taylor currently ranks #230 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.