Fun Facts About the Name Tafari
- 970 babies named Tafari: U.S. records list 970 babies given the name Tafari from 1880 through 2025. Even 6 girls received the name Tafari - about 1 girl for every 161 boys.
What Does the Name Tafari Mean?
Tafari (Amharic ተፈሪ, also transliterated Täfäri or Teferi) is a masculine name from the Ethiopian Semitic language family, used in Amharic and Tigrinya. It is built on the same root as the verb "to fear," in a form with a passive or reflexive sense, so its established meaning is usually given as "awe-inspiring" or "one who is feared" - a person who commands reverence.
The name is occasionally glossed as "fearless," but that reverses the sense: the root concerns fear or awe directed toward the person, not the absence of fear. The similar-sounding Amharic word fəre ("fruit") is unrelated. Tafari has a single origin; its different spellings represent the same name.
Tafari Name History & Origins
Tafari is a traditional Ethiopian name written ተፈሪ in the Ge'ez script. Its best-known bearer is Tafari Makonnen (1892 - 1975), who before his coronation was styled Ras Tafari, with ras an Ethiopian noble title roughly equivalent to "head" or "duke." Following Ethiopian custom, which places the given name before the father's name, Tafari Makonnen means Tafari, son of Makonnen. He was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia in 1930, taking the throne name Haile Selassie ("Power of the Trinity").
The name became internationally familiar through the Rastafari movement, which formed in Jamaica in the 1930s. Many of its members regard Haile Selassie as a divine figure, and the movement's name comes directly from his pre-coronation title, Ras Tafari. Followers took Tafari and Ras Tafari as personal names, and through reggae music and Rasta culture the name spread well beyond Ethiopia.
Because the name is transliterated from the Ge'ez script, it appears in several spellings: Tafari, Täfäri, Teferi, and Tafari. In Ethiopia it is used as a given name; in Jamaica and elsewhere it also appears within compound names, sometimes alongside the title Ras.
How Popular is the Name Tafari?
Tafari 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 2023. Its best rank was #2,603 in 2023.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | #16,020 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,520 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2024 | #3,760 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2023 | #2,603 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 2022 | #2,908 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 2021 | #3,639 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2020 | #4,260 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2019 | #3,886 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2018 | #5,289 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2017 | #4,445 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2016 | #3,051 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2015 | #4,530 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2014 | #3,767 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2013 | #3,947 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2012 | #4,836 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #5,170 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #4,506 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #7,626 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #4,244 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2007 | #3,986 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2006 | #3,594 | 29 | 0.0014% |
| 2005 | #4,312 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2004 | #3,442 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 2003 | #3,827 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2002 | #3,655 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #3,398 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2000 | #3,410 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1999 | #2,660 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1998 | #3,828 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #3,715 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #2,822 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1995 | #2,913 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1994 | #3,732 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1993 | #4,957 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #4,827 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #5,053 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #4,372 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #5,542 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #5,677 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #5,400 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #4,798 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #5,090 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #4,170 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1983 | #4,107 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #4,939 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #6,161 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #4,888 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #4,994 | 7 | 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.
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How the Name Tafari 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 always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Tafari's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tafari's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.