Given name & surname
Tau
“resembling a lion”
Tau is used as a given name and a surname. One African interpretation is “resembling a lion.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “resembling a lion.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1976. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Tau through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 39
- 39 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1976
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,675 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,675 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1976. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 315 as a first name in 2020; 523 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tau’s family of names
In Danish usage, Tau has a conventional equivalent in the Swedish form Tage. In English usage, Tau as a surname has a related form in Tao.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Tau, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Kwesi
“born on a Saturday” · “born on a Sunday”
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“a bold warrior”
>99% boys
Keita
“a worshiper”
>99% boys
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“one who is precious”
94% boys · 6% girls