Tippi

Meaning & origin

Tippi is a rarity among given names, having first appeared in U.S. birth records in 1963 and reaching its peak usage in 1965, when it was given to a handful of girls. Since then, it has remained extremely uncommon, with no births recorded in most subsequent years (trajectory stable). The name is strongly associated with the 1960s, a decade in which it briefly surfaced, likely influenced by the actress Tippi Hedren and her role in Hitchcock's 'The Birds' (1963). Despite its obscurity, Tippi has a playful, vintage charm that appeals to parents seeking a distinctive and unconventional choice. Its resemblance to a nickname and its open-ended origin allow it to be embraced as a modern invention or a creative respelling, but it has not sustained enough usage to appear in any top state rankings or achieve a measurable one-in-N rate.

Tippi first appeared in the United States in the early 1960s, likely inspired by the French name Tiphaine (from Greek epiphaneia 'manifestation'), but also used as a diminutive or invented name. It gained brief visibility after the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' featured a character named Tippy, and later associated with actress Tippi Hedren (born Nathalie Hedren), whose nickname was reportedly based on a family friend's mispronunciation of 'Jenny' or simply an invented pet name. The spelling 'Tippi' is a variant of the more common 'Tippy'.