Taye
Masculine
Taye is given to both — 579 boys and 48 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Taye Diggs was christened Scott Leo. His younger brother could not manage Scotty and produced something like Taye instead, the family kept it, and the actor took it professionally. A toddler's mispronunciation became a name on a cinema poster.
How old is the name Taye?
Taye first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Taye alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 600 people named Taye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Taye most popular?
Taye peaked in 2000, reaching #2175 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 7,539 places below that high. See the whole 2000 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Taye
Nursery deformations are a standard source of English familiar forms, and most of them are ancient enough that nobody notices. Peggy comes from Meggy, from Margaret, by a rhyming substitution children make readily. Bob comes from Rob, Bill from Will, Dick from Rick, Ted from Ed, Polly from Molly, from Mary. The substitution of one consonant for another at the front of a word is exactly what small children do, and English has kept dozens of the results as independent names. Taye is the same process happening within living memory and documented: a younger brother's attempt at Scotty. What is unusual is only that the person it happened to became famous, so the private family form entered the national record and was then adopted by strangers who knew nothing about any of it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Taye has no inherited etymology in American use. It coincides with the Amharic name Taye, from a verb meaning to be seen, used in Ethiopia. The American name follows the actor Taye Diggs, born Scott Leo Diggs, whose nickname arose from a sibling's pronunciation of Scotty. The peak is 2000.
Pronouncing Taye
TAY
One syllable. The final e is silent and marks the long vowel. Taye and Tay are homophones.
Nicknames for Taye
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
- 1998
- Most boys named
- 200453 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2175reached in 2000
- Change vs 2023
- −12.5%7 in 2025, from 8
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.
Taye in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Taye in Amharic — related form
- Tay in English — spelling variant
Tayes among us
people named Taye are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Taye
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 Justino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Taye's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Justino climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Justino's path sketches the road Taye is walking now.
Taye 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
Taye beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Taye in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and four letters, compact and distinctive.
- There is no possible mispronunciation.
- It coincides with a genuine Ethiopian name.
- It is closely identified with one actor.
- The final e adds a letter without adding a sound.
- It has no documented meaning in English.
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What they receive
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Taye
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tayes 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 Taye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Taye in 2025?
- Taye ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Taye?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Taye — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Taye with classmates?
- Taye will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Taye
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Taye? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Taye and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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