Fun Facts About the Name Tad
- More than 6 thousand babies named Tad: U.S. records list 6,929 babies given the name Tad from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Tad Mean?
Tad is an English short form of Thaddeus, so its meaning is usually taken from that older name. The meaning of Thaddeus is uncertain. It comes from the Greek Thaddaios, the name of one of Jesus's apostles in the New Testament. A common explanation connects Thaddaios with an Aramaic word for 'breast' or 'heart,' which gives the traditional interpretation 'courageous heart' or 'heart.' Another view treats it as a Greek form of a Semitic name whose original sense is no longer recoverable. The Welsh word tad, meaning 'father,' is a separate word and is not the source of the English given name.
Tad Name History & Origins
Tad developed in English as a short form of Thaddeus. Thaddeus entered English through Latin Thaddaeus and Greek Thaddaios, the apostolic name used in the New Testament. In other European languages the same name took forms such as Italian Taddeo, Spanish Tadeo, Polish Tadeusz, and Czech Tadeáš. English speakers shortened Thaddeus to Thad and Tad, and Tad became a familiar independent nickname. A noted 19th-century American bearer was Thomas 'Tad' Lincoln (1853 - 1871), the youngest son of Abraham Lincoln; the exact origin of his nickname within the family is not fully documented. In modern English, Tad also appears as a given name in its own right. The Welsh word tad, meaning 'father,' is unrelated to the English name.
How Popular is the Name Tad?
Tad recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1966. Its best rank was #471 in 1966.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,619 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #7,657 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #6,463 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #7,697 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #6,628 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #7,983 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #5,528 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2018 | #5,510 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2017 | #7,478 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #5,287 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #5,954 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #4,845 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #4,953 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2012 | #4,660 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #4,336 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2010 | #8,706 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #4,147 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2008 | #4,518 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2007 | #3,500 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 2006 | #3,076 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #2,893 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2004 | #2,945 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2003 | #3,105 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2002 | #2,596 | 38 | 0.0020% |
| 2001 | #2,920 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 2000 | #2,912 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1999 | #2,930 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1998 | #2,842 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1997 | #1,961 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 1996 | #1,668 | 58 | 0.0031% |
| 1995 | #1,474 | 66 | 0.0035% |
| 1994 | #1,351 | 75 | 0.0039% |
| 1993 | #1,205 | 88 | 0.0045% |
| 1992 | #1,279 | 79 | 0.0040% |
| 1991 | #1,037 | 110 | 0.0054% |
| 1990 | #1,128 | 92 | 0.0045% |
| 1989 | #983 | 108 | 0.0054% |
| 1988 | #923 | 108 | 0.0056% |
| 1987 | #933 | 103 | 0.0055% |
| 1986 | #788 | 133 | 0.0072% |
| 1985 | #787 | 128 | 0.0069% |
| 1984 | #762 | 130 | 0.0072% |
| 1983 | #1,021 | 76 | 0.0042% |
| 1982 | #1,138 | 65 | 0.0036% |
| 1981 | #992 | 84 | 0.0047% |
| 1980 | #898 | 100 | 0.0056% |
| 1979 | #854 | 104 | 0.0060% |
| 1978 | #789 | 116 | 0.0071% |
| 1977 | #731 | 137 | 0.0083% |
| 1976 | #687 | 146 | 0.0093% |
| 1975 | #621 | 169 | 0.0108% |
| 1974 | #617 | 171 | 0.0109% |
| 1973 | #633 | 158 | 0.0101% |
| 1972 | #623 | 160 | 0.0099% |
| 1971 | #617 | 184 | 0.0104% |
| 1970 | #576 | 197 | 0.0106% |
| 1969 | #603 | 170 | 0.0095% |
| 1968 | #535 | 204 | 0.0117% |
| 1967 | #508 | 220 | 0.0126% |
| 1966 | #471 | 265 | 0.0149% |
| 1965 | #510 | 223 | 0.0120% |
| 1964 | #579 | 187 | 0.0094% |
| 1963 | #603 | 169 | 0.0083% |
| 1962 | #618 | 157 | 0.0076% |
| 1961 | #693 | 122 | 0.0057% |
| 1960 | #648 | 145 | 0.0068% |
| 1959 | #664 | 133 | 0.0062% |
| 1958 | #659 | 137 | 0.0065% |
| 1957 | #632 | 149 | 0.0069% |
| 1956 | #675 | 125 | 0.0059% |
| 1955 | #778 | 89 | 0.0043% |
| 1954 | #1,076 | 49 | 0.0024% |
| 1953 | #1,136 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 1952 | #1,546 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1951 | #1,453 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1950 | #1,498 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1949 | #1,934 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1948 | #1,455 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1947 | #1,476 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1946 | #1,750 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1945 | #1,764 | 16 | 0.0012% |
| 1944 | #1,726 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1943 | #1,364 | 27 | 0.0019% |
| 1942 | #1,530 | 22 | 0.0016% |
| 1941 | #2,076 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1940 | #1,567 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1939 | #1,529 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1938 | #2,311 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #3,964 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #2,603 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1935 | #2,118 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1934 | #2,247 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1933 | #1,538 | 21 | 0.0021% |
| 1932 | #1,705 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1931 | #3,714 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1930 | #3,557 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #1,786 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1928 | #2,824 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1927 | #3,741 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1926 | #2,551 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1925 | #2,572 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1924 | #4,877 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1923 | #4,188 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #3,220 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1921 | #2,966 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1920 | #4,229 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,732 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1918 | #4,730 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1917 | #4,508 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1915 | #2,292 | 12 | 0.0014% |
| 1913 | #3,209 | 5 | 0.0010% |
| 1912 | #2,864 | 5 | 0.0012% |
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.
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How the Name Tad 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.
✦ Tad's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tad's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.