Fun Facts About the Name Tally
- 699 babies named Tally: U.S. records list 699 babies given the name Tally from 1880 through 2025. Even 137 boys received the name Tally - about 1 boy for every 4 girls.
What Does the Name Tally Mean?
Tally is a feminine given name with two established lines of meaning: from Hebrew, dew of God, and from English, a count or reckoning. In the Hebrew line, Tally is an English spelling of Tali, a short form of Talia (טַלְיָה). Talia is usually explained as tal (טַל), 'dew,' plus yah (יָה), a shortened form of the divine name, giving the customary sense 'dew of God.' The shorter Tali (טלי) can mean simply 'dew' and is often an affectionate form. Some connect Talia instead to Aramaic טַלְיָא (talyā), 'lamb,' so that derivation is not entirely settled. The English source is the word tally, from Anglo-Norman French tallie and Latin talea, 'a cutting' or 'rod'; a tally was a notched stick used to record accounts, and the word came to mean a count or reckoning. The Hebrew and English derivations are independent. Tally is not related to the similar-sounding Greek name Thalia, which comes from a different root.
Tally Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name Talia is post-biblical. Its shorter form Tali appears in modern Hebrew as a feminine name. English spellings vary, and Tally is one way English speakers render Tali. The spelling with -y is an English-language adaptation rather than a Hebrew form.
The English word tally has a separate history. It comes through Middle English tallie and Anglo-Norman French tallie from Latin talea, a rod or cutting. Notched wooden tallies were used in medieval and later accounting, including in the English Exchequer, to record debts and payments. An English surname Tally also exists and is often linked to this accounting term. As a given name, Tally can be a transferred use of the surname, a direct use of the word, or a spelling of Hebrew Tali. It is also sometimes an informal short form of Natalia, but that is a nickname use rather than a separate source of the name's meaning.
A modern fictional bearer is Tally Youngblood, the main character in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, beginning with Uglies (2005). That literary use is much later than the Hebrew and English roots of the name and is not the source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Tally?
Tally 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 1958. Its best rank was #2,740 in 1958.
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 | #8,301 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #10,976 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #11,066 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #8,998 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #11,063 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #14,914 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #11,277 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #11,341 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #18,946 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #11,865 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #19,306 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #10,390 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #19,912 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #12,483 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #20,246 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #10,544 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #14,360 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #12,644 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #11,232 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #13,463 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #10,030 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #10,656 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #9,400 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #8,515 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #7,237 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1995 | #15,508 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #11,645 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #15,537 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #15,179 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #10,099 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #13,657 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #12,619 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #9,050 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #10,135 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #4,702 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1981 | #5,546 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #6,733 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1979 | #7,248 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1978 | #6,332 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1977 | #4,047 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #4,331 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #3,749 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1974 | #4,016 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1973 | #4,140 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1972 | #3,870 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1971 | #5,086 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1970 | #5,764 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #5,404 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #5,590 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #7,722 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #5,738 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1965 | #7,413 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #5,938 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #5,240 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #4,822 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #5,776 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #7,100 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #2,740 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1956 | #4,788 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1955 | #5,758 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #6,016 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #6,033 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | #5,062 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #2,742 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1974 | #2,783 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1973 | #4,447 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #4,669 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #4,674 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #3,905 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #4,368 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,948 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #3,893 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #4,204 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,692 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #3,294 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #3,988 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1938 | #3,979 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,995 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #4,099 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #4,472 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #4,100 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,161 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #4,140 | 6 | 0.0005% |
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 Tally 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.
✦ Tally's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tally's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.