Tate
Meaning
surname, from Old Norse "teitr", "cheerful"
The story
Tate is a Viking smile hiding in an English surname: the root is Old Norse teitr, cheerful, glad, which makes it one of the few one-syllable boys' names whose meaning is an emotion. As a first name it idled for most of a century, under 300 a decade into the 1960s, then about 820 in the 1970s, a dip in the 1980s, and then a four-decade climb: 3,100 in the 1990s, 6,900 in the 2000s, 7,600 in the 2010s, and already 9,400 so far this decade, past the full 2010s with years to run. In our records it goes to boys about 27,400 to 1,600. It rides the one-syllable surname current with Hayes and Brooks, and for gallery-minded families the London art museums echo it for free. A name meaning cheerful that never shouts: the understatement is the point, and the record suggests America has finally noticed.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tate peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
30 people · the #94,398 first name in Brazil · median age 26
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Tate
Most people given the name Tate in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Tate deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tate 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 Tate fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Tate fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Tate to your family’s tree →