Fun Facts About the Name Tarzan
- 22 babies named Tarzan: U.S. records list 22 babies given the name Tarzan from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Tarzan Mean?
Tarzan is the name of the fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's stories, and it has no established etymology in English or in any other documented language. The only widely repeated explanation of its meaning comes from inside the stories themselves. In the novels, the boy is raised by great apes who name him Tarzan, and the narrative glosses the word as "white skin" in their speech. That gloss belongs to the invented ape vocabulary of the fiction; it is not a translation from a real language, so it cannot be treated as the name's historical meaning.
The character's human identity in the stories is John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, which is separate from the ape name and is not a source of it.
Tarzan Name History & Origins
The name became widely known through Burroughs's serial Tarzan of the Apes, published in All-Story Magazine in 1912 and issued as a book in 1914, followed by many sequels. Its reach beyond the stories shows in place names taken from the character. Burroughs bought land in the San Fernando Valley of California in 1919 and named his ranch Tarzana; the community that grew around it took the same name, and Tarzana is now a neighborhood of Los Angeles. A small community in Martin County, Texas, also bears the name Tarzan.
The name has served as a nickname as well as a personal name. Adaptations for film fixed the character in popular culture, and in Turkey a wandering local figure was known as "Tarzan of Manisa." As a given name, Tarzan is uncommon in English-speaking countries and appears only occasionally elsewhere.
How Popular is the Name Tarzan?
Tarzan 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 2025. Its best rank was #10,555 in 2025.
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 | #10,555 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #13,965 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2018 | #13,858 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #14,159 | 5 | 0.0002% |
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 Tarzan 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.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Tarzan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Tarzan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.