Tiger
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Meaning
“English word name for the big cat; famously borne by golfer Tiger Woods, born Eldrick, as a lifelong nickname-turned-name”
The story
Tiger is the English word, plain and fierce, and as a birth-certificate name it barely exists: even a quarter century of fame for the most famous golfer alive did not put it on the American charts until a faint first appearance in the 2020s. The famous bearer did not receive it at birth either. Tiger Woods was born Eldrick, and his father Earl called him Tiger in honor of a South Vietnamese soldier he had served beside in Vietnam. The nickname swallowed the given name whole; by the time Woods won the 1997 Masters by twelve strokes at twenty-one, the youngest champion in its history, hardly anyone remembered Eldrick. He went on to fifteen major titles in all, and a fame that spilled far beyond sport. As a pick for a child, Tiger is bold, genuinely rare, and less outlandish than it once seemed. Word names have tamed stranger creatures than this one.
How popular is Tiger around the world?
In the United States, 217 babies were named Tiger between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 9 boys named Tiger were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th among boys that year.
Tiger is on the official records of the United States and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 100,000
In the United States, 217 babies were named Tiger between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tiger peaked in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 boys named Tiger were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th 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
Canada
last on record 2022
Tiger is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
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
last on record 2013
Tiger is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, 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 Tiger
Most people given the name Tiger 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
The Tiger deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tiger 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 Tiger fits with your family’s names and surname.
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