Rising since 2019, #7,679 for boys today.
Popularity of Tell since 1982
Babies named Tell per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 60 |
| 1990s | 55 |
| 2000s | 10 |
| 2010s | 49 |
| 2020s | 32 |
Meaning & origin
Tell is a rarity among American given names. First recorded in 1982, it has never cracked the top 5,000 and peaked at rank 7,679 in 2025. Its trajectory since 2019 has been rising, though from an extremely low base; it took roughly 1 in 170,808 male births in 2025. Unlike many modern coinages that lean on popular suffixes, Tell stands alone as a crisp, one-syllable name. Its associations vary from the surname tradition to the legendary archer William Tell, but the name carries no strong cultural or etymological baggage. For parents seeking an obscure, unencumbered name with a modern feel, Tell offers a blank slate.
Tell is a rare given name of modern English coinage. It may have emerged as a short form of Tellsworth or a similar surname, or as a direct adoption of the surname Tell. Folk etymology often connects it to the legendary Swiss hero William Tell, but the name's independent use as a given name is recent and not directly derived from that figure. Its usage in the United States dates only from the 1980s.
Sibling names for Tell
Names that share Tell's style, for a brother or sister.
