Tanner
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Meaning
occupational surname, "leather tanner"
The story
Tanner began as an English occupational surname for someone who tanned animal hides into leather. Like Carter, Cooper, and Mason, it moved from a trade into a family name and then onto birth certificates. The meaning is concrete and historical; it is not a metaphor for toughness or color. The US curve first registers in the later twentieth century, rises hard in the 1990s, stays at its displayed high level through the 2000s and 2010s, and eases in the 2020s. That broad plateau made Tanner a defining surname-style boys' name across more than one generation. Its double n and familiar -er ending make it sound thoroughly modern in the nursery, but the word preserves an old and physically demanding craft. Tanner is modern as a first-name fashion, not as a piece of English vocabulary.
How popular is Tanner around the world?
In the United States, 5,030 babies were named Tanner between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 6 boys were registered as Tanner in 2017.
Tanner is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 4,300
In the United States, 5,030 babies were named Tanner between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tanner peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Tanner went to 1,784 US babies in 2015 and 684 in 2025, 38% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 6 boys were registered as Tanner in 2017.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 4,600
In Canada, 80 boys named Tanner were born in 2024, the 404th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 150,000
In England and Wales, 4 boys named Tanner were born in 2025, ranked 4,275th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
last on record 2023
Tanner is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 50 people in Brazil were named Tanner, ranked 66,656th, with a median age of 38.
Among people named Tanner living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New Zealand
last on record 2021
Tanner is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Tanner
Most people given the name Tanner in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Tanner · Names that go with Tanner · Climbers and fallers
The Tanner deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tanner truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Tanner fits with your family’s names and surname.
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