Tadhg
Masculine · “poet”
Tadhg is the Irish word for a poet, and it was so common a name in Ireland that English speakers once used it as a generic term for an Irishman. The spelling is entirely regular in Irish and opaque in English.
How old is the name Tadhg?
Tadhg first appears in US birth records in 1992 — 33 years ago. The typical Tadhg is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Tadhg are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tadhg most popular?
Tadhg peaked in 2023, reaching #2769 nationally. Today it ranks #3658, 889 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Tadhg
Poets held real rank in early Ireland — a chief poet ranked with a lord and could unmake a king with satire — and the name reflects that standing. Tadhg was among the commonest Irish men's names for a thousand years, so common that English writers used Teague as a byword for an Irishman, which became an insult. The name was revived in Ireland in the twentieth century and is in growing use.
Meaning
poet
From Irish tadhg, a poet; the dh in the middle is silent in modern Irish, which is why the name is said in one syllable. It was borne by kings of Connacht and Munster and appears throughout the annals.
Pronouncing Tadhg
TYG
One syllable, rhyming with tiger's first syllable; the dh is silent. Munster Irish gives a shorter vowel, closer to TEIG.
Nicknames for Tadhg
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1992
- Most boys named
- 202346 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2769reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −25.0%30 in 2025, from 40
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Tadhg in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tadhg in Irish — same name
- Teague in English — related form
- Tadhg in Scottish Gaelic — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Massachusetts, New York.
Tadhgs among us
people named Tadhg are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 56,936 born in 2025 was named Tadhg
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Heron test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tadhg's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Heron climbed just as high around 1950, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Heron's path sketches the road Tadhg is walking now.
Tadhg sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Tadhg is headed
Tadhg looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Tadhg beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tadhg in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is genuinely admirable — a poet, in a society that ranked them high.
- A documented record reaching back through a thousand years of Irish annals.
- One syllable, so it is quick to say once the spelling is learned.
- Nobody outside Ireland can read the spelling, and he will pronounce it for strangers all his life.
- The anglicized Teague was used as an ethnic slur in English, which is worth knowing.
- American systems will mangle the dh and may reject the spelling.
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What they receive
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Tadhg
Masculine · #3658 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tadhgs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Tadhg are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tadhg in 2025?
- Tadhg ranks #3658 among US boy names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tadhg?
- About 1 in every 56,936 US boys born in 2025 was named Tadhg — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tadhg with classmates?
- Tadhg will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tadhg
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jimmie#3658 · Mckinley#3658 · Menno#3658 · Claudio#3658 · Ezekial#3658 · Brandt#3658 · Benuel#3658 · Gustav#3658
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tadhg? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tadhg and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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