Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Tatum

Tatum is the transferred use of an English surname with Anglo-Saxon origins; it’s essentially derived from a place name, so-called “Tatham” in Lancashire, England. Tatum means “Tate’s homestead” after an Olde English personal name “Tata” which has no known meaning. The establishment of the place name and surname both date back to the 11th century. Tatum as a given name is a fairly new coinage (perhaps inspired by actress Tatum O’Neal (b. 1963). Today the name is considered gender-neutral and is used in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. It has a longer history as a female name but is now being bestowed on little boys (perhaps inspired by actor Channing Tatum).

All About the Baby Name – Tatum

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME TATUM

The Three energy is powerful and enthusiastic. These personalities are cheerful, full of self-expression, and often quite emotional. They have an artistic flair and "gift-of-gab" that makes them natural entertainers. Their joyfulness bubbles over, and their infectious exuberance draws a crowd. The Three personality is like a child - forever young and full of delight. They are charming, witty, and generally happy people. The Three personality lives in the "now" and has a spontaneous nature. Threes seem to live with a bright and seemingly unbreakable aura that attracts others to them. In turn, they are deeply loyal and loving to their friends and family. Luck also has a tendency to favor number Threes.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME TATUM

We were surprised to see Tatum only first appear on the female naming charts in 1994. We would have expected to see it show up in the mid-1970s when precociously cute Tatum O’Neal earned an Oscar at the age of 10 for “Paper Moon”. But nope. The name didn’t emerge on the U.S. female charts until 1994; and for some reason the name jumped a whopping 550 positions up the female charts in two short years (1997-1998) – another thing we can’t figure out. In the meantime, over in the boy’s camp, Tatum first emerged on the Top 1000 list in 2010 (although the name is much less popular for baby boys). We’re not sure why the sudden interest in this name? Today Tatum O’Neal is divorced from her tennis star husband, John McEnroe, and purportedly a drug addict (not to mention her famous feud with her father, Ryan). She’s resurfaced a little here and there in the news in recent years – maybe that’s what’s keeping Tatum top-of-mind for some parents of baby girls. For boy’s we don’t understand the motivating factor behind Tatum’s usage. This name is strongly identified with Tatum O’Neal which diminishes the name’s masculinity some; however, people will soon forget about Tatum O’Neal as generations progress. Tatum is a unique sounding name; we’ll give it that. But the meaning and origin (Tate’s homestead) is rather [yawn] bland. We would still consider Tatum an original name choice: androgynous, offbeat, different.

Quick Facts

ON TATUM

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

545

PRONUNCIATION:

TAY-tәm

SIMPLE MEANING:

Tate's homestead

Characteristics

OF TATUM

Communicative

Creative

Optimistic

Popular

Social

Dramatic

Happy

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Tatum

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME TATUM

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Tatum

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME TATUM

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Tatum


Popular Songs

ON TATUM

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Tatum


Famous People

NAMED TATUM

Tatum O’Neal (actress)
Tatum Reed (adult actress)
Tatum Bell (football player)
Tatum McCann (actress)
Tatum O’Neal (actress)
Tatum Reed (adult actress)
Tatum Bell (football player)
Tatum McCann (actress)
Tatum O’Neal (actress)
Tatum Reed (adult actress)
Tatum Bell (football player)
Tatum McCann (actress)

Children of Famous People

NAMED TATUM

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Tatum

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME TATUM

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Tatum