Tatum
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Meaning
an English surname from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead"
The story
Tatum comes from an English surname built on a place-name. Its Old English meaning was "Tata’s homestead": Tata was a person’s name, and the rest described that person’s home. One of its public associations comes from actor Tatum O’Neal and her first feature film, Paper Moon.
She plays Addie Loggins opposite her father, Ryan O’Neal, in a black-and-white story that travels through Kansas and Missouri during the economic hardship of the Great Depression. Addie spots the fraudulent Bible-selling scheme, negotiates her part in the partnership and takes a hand in the money. O’Neal won the Academy Award for supporting actress for the performance in 1974, aged 10.
How popular is Tatum around the world?
In the United States, 15,252 babies were named Tatum between 2020 and 2025.
Tatum is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, South Australia and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 1,400
In the United States, 15,252 babies were named Tatum between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tatum peaked in the 2020s. In 2025 Tatum went to 1,661 girls and 1,736 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 2,400
In New Zealand, 24 boys named Tatum were registered in 2025.
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
Canada
1 in 2,500
In Canada, 99 boys named Tatum were born in 2024, the 331st most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 49 girls named Tatum were born in 2024, the 586th most common name among girls 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)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Tatum in 2017.
The count never rose above 6 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
England and Wales
1 in 27,000
In England and Wales, 19 boys named Tatum were born in 2025, ranked 1,406th 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, 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 Tatum
Most people given the name Tatum 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.
Keep exploring
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The Tatum deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tatum 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 Tatum fits with your family’s names and surname.
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