Thad
Masculine
Thad is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 8,219 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
The apostle called Thaddeus is also called Lebbaeus in some manuscripts and Judas son of James in others. The Church needed a way to refer to him that could not be confused with Judas Iscariot, and Thaddeus did that job. The name spread because another name had become unusable.
How old is the name Thad?
Thad was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Thad alive today was born around 1966, making them about 59 years old. About 5,700 people named Thad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Thad most popular?
Thad peaked in 1967, reaching #401 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 8,509 places below that high. See the whole 1967 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Thaddaios to Thad
The story of Thad
Judas was a normal Jewish name in the first century and two of the twelve apostles bore it. After the betrayal it became unusable in Christian naming almost everywhere in Europe, which left the second Judas needing a different label. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark supply Thaddeus, Luke and Acts supply Judas son of James, and some manuscripts of Matthew supply Lebbaeus, so the same man appears under three names depending on the text. The Church settled on Jude for the epistle and Thaddeus for the apostle, and both entered the name stock as substitutes for a name that could not be used. Jude was avoided for centuries in England and revived only in the twentieth. Thaddeus carried the load instead, particularly in Catholic and Polish families, where Tadeusz is still standard.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Thaddeus has no established meaning. Proposals include Aramaic tad, the breast, giving something like courageous or big-hearted; a shortening of a Greek name such as Theodotos; and an Aramaic personal name of unknown sense. None is demonstrated, and the standard reference works say so. Thad is the English clip of Thaddeus, in use since at least the seventeenth century. The American peak is 1967.
How the name formed
- Thaddaios
- Thaddeus
- Thad
Related forms: Tadeusz · Tadeo · Taddeo · Tadas
Pronouncing Thad
THAD
One syllable. The th is the voiceless sound of thin. Thad and Tad are said differently, though many speakers merge them.
Nicknames for Thad
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1969323 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #401reached in 1967
- Change vs 2022
- −11.1%8 in 2025, from 9
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.
Thad in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tadeusz in Polish — same name
- Tadeo in Spanish — same name
- Taddeo in Italian — same name
- Tadas in Lithuanian — related form
Thads among us
people named Thad are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Thad
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 Everette test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Thad's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Everette climbed just as high around 1919, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Everette's path sketches the road Thad is walking now.
Thad 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
Thad beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Thad 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, with a full formal name behind it.
- Thaddeus is available as the long form on documents.
- The apostle gives it a long and specific history.
- The meaning of the parent name is genuinely unknown.
- Tad is the commoner spelling of the sound.
- The 1967 peak places it firmly in the mid-century.
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What they receive
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Thad
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Thads are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,700 people named Thad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Thad in 2025?
- Thad ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Thad?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Thad — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Thad with classmates?
- Thad will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Thad
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Thad? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Thad and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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