How common is the surname Tai?

4,401 people in the United States had the surname Tai in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 70,153 Americans. It ranked 7,553rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Tai?

Kobe Tai, American pornographic actress.

Where is the surname Tai most common?

Wikidata records people named Tai in Taiwan.

Is the surname Tai getting more or less common?

More common. 3,732 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,401 in 2010, up 18%.

Is Tai also a first name?

Yes. Tai is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Tai

A Chinese surname, carried by 4,401 people in the United States.

Pronounced /taɪ/ 1 syllable Soundex T000 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Tai is more common than 95.3% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 邰 (Tái) and 斄 /𭤎 (Tái).

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,401 people named Tai in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 70,153 Americans. That is up 18% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,732.

#7,553

rank among US surnames

4,401

people in 2010

1.5

per 100,000 Americans

+17.9%

change since 2000 (was #8,171)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#7,549	Jeffcoat	4,406	70,074
#7,550	Landes	4,404	70,106
#7,552	Kroeger	4,402	70,138
#7,553	Tai	4,401	70,153
#7,554	Teasley	4,400	70,169
#7,558	Toma	4,399	70,185

Who is named Tai

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Tai identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 4.8% as two or more races and 3.9% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 86%
Two or more races 4.8%
White (not Hispanic) 3.9%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Tais

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kobe Tai
American pornographic actress, born 1972

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Tai

Tai has the Soundex code T000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T000.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Tai come from?: From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 邰 (Tái) and 斄 /𭤎 (Tái).
How common is the surname Tai?: 4,401 people in the United States had the surname Tai in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 70,153 Americans. It ranked 7,553rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Tai?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Tai identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 4.8% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Tai?: Kobe Tai, American pornographic actress.
Where is the surname Tai most common?: Wikidata records people named Tai in Taiwan.
How do you pronounce Tai?: Tai is /taɪ/, one syllable.
Is the surname Tai getting more or less common?: More common. 3,732 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,401 in 2010, up 18%.
Is Tai also a first name?: Yes. Tai is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.