How common is the surname Tait?

6,271 people in the United States had the surname Tait in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 49,234 Americans. It ranked 5,540th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Tait?

Sarah Tait, Australian rower (1983–2016), followed by Alice Tait.

Where is the surname Tait most common?

Wikidata records people named Tait in the United States, Australia and New Zealand and 1 other country.

Is the surname Tait getting more or less common?

More common. 6,037 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,271 in 2010, up 3.9%.

The surname Tait

A Norse nickname surname, carried by 6,271 people in the United States.

Pronounced /teɪt/ 1 syllable Soundex T300

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Tait is more common than 96.6% of them.

Origin

Norse origin

From Middle English Tayte, Tayt, Teyt (personal name), from Middle English tayt, teyte (“cheerful, merry”), from Old Norse teitr (“cheerful, glad”), from Proto-Germanic *taitaz (“glad, delicate, tender, radiant”). Cognate with Old English tāt (“glad”, attested in names), Old High German zeiz (“loving, pleasant, tender”).

Tait is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 126 Norse surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 6,271 people named Tait in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 49,234 Americans. That is up 3.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,037.

#5,540

rank among US surnames

6,271

people in 2010

2.1

per 100,000 Americans

+3.9%

change since 2000 (was #5,310)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#5,531	Hardee	6,283	49,140
#5,533	Boylan	6,280	49,163
#5,534	Linden	6,276	49,195
#5,535	Dee	6,275	49,202
#5,537	Rascon	6,274	49,210
#5,538	Hassell	6,273	49,218
#5,539	Pitcher	6,272	49,226

Who is named Tait

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

84% of people named Tait identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.3%
Two or more races 1.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Taits

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Sarah Tait
Australian rower (1983–2016)
Alice Tait
Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1986
Shaun Tait
Australian cricketer, born 1983
Douglas Tait
American actor, stuntman, and independent filmmaker, born 1978
Michael Tait
American contemporary Christian music artist, born 1966
Charles Tait
American politician (1768–1835)
Archibald Campbell Tait
Archbishop of Canterbury; Bishop of London; Dean of Carlisle (1811-1882)

Notable Taits come mostly from the United States (3), Australia (2) and New Zealand (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Tait

Tait has the Soundex code T300, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T300.

Other Norse surnames

All 126 Norse surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Tait come from?: From Middle English Tayte, Tayt, Teyt (personal name), from Middle English tayt, teyte (“cheerful, merry”), from Old Norse teitr (“cheerful, glad”), from Proto-Germanic *taitaz (“glad, delicate, tender, radiant”). Cognate with Old English tāt (“glad”, attested in names), Old High German zeiz…
How common is the surname Tait?: 6,271 people in the United States had the surname Tait in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 49,234 Americans. It ranked 5,540th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Tait?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Tait identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Tait?: Sarah Tait, Australian rower (1983–2016), followed by Alice Tait.
Where is the surname Tait most common?: Wikidata records people named Tait in the United States, Australia and New Zealand and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Tait?: Tait is /teɪt/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Tait?: Tait is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Tait getting more or less common?: More common. 6,037 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,271 in 2010, up 3.9%.