Fun Facts About the Name Tabb
- 61 babies named Tabb: U.S. records list 61 babies given the name Tabb from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Tabb Mean?
Tabb is best explained as an English family name that also sees occasional use as a given name. The most common account traces it to the Middle English personal name Tabbe, a short, rhyming pet form of Tabitha, the Aramaic name for a gazelle or doe. Medieval English speakers regularly made clipped, rhyming versions of both men's and women's names - Robert produced Rob, Hob, and Bob; Isabel produced Ib and Tibb - so a form like Tabbe from Tabitha fits an ordinary pattern of the period. Because Tabb survives almost entirely as a hereditary surname, no single derivation is documented beyond doubt, and some reference works list the name without committing to one origin. Where Tabb is treated as a descendant of Tabitha, the literal meaning is "gazelle."
Tabb Name History & Origins
The root of the name is the biblical figure Tabitha, who appears in the New Testament book of Acts, where Peter restores her to life; the text notes that her name translates as Dorcas, the Greek word for a gazelle. Tabitha was used as a personal name in England, and it was especially favored by Puritan families in the 16th and 17th centuries, who often chose names straight from Scripture. From everyday use of Tabitha, English speakers formed the familiar short form Tabbe, along with Tab and Tabbs, and these pet forms passed into hereditary surnames in the late medieval and early modern periods.
As a surname, Tabb spread through England and then to colonial North America. In York County, Virginia, the community of Tabb takes its name from a local family of that surname. The name's use as a first name is uncommon and appears mainly in the United States, generally as a transferred use of the surname rather than as a direct continuation of the medieval pet form.
How Popular is the Name Tabb?
Tabb has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1957. Its best rank was #3,000 in 1957.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | #3,560 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #4,096 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #3,613 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #4,558 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #4,592 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1960 | #3,309 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #3,255 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1958 | #4,448 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #3,000 | 9 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with T
Short Boy Names That Start with T
How the Name Tabb Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You like to control everyone within your influence, to shape things to your own liking. If positive, you develop high spirituality, as you have a God's protection. You are sensitive, affectionate, imaginative and cooperative, spiritually aware and prone to self-sacrifice. You can keep secrets and are a good diplomat. You may have healing and psychic powers. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Tabb's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tabb's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.