Boys' name · since 1982
Tell
Tell has 206 recorded births since 1982 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1988 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #12,791 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,869 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 206
- born since 1982
- 1980s
- peak decade
Tell currently ranks #7869 among boys' names in America, with 206 babies recorded since 1982.
Tell has 206 recorded births among boys since 1982, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #7869 as of the latest data, more common than 44% of boys, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1982 to 2025.
- #12,791 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #7,869 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 206 born since 1982
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Tell ranks #12,791 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,869 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 206 born since 1982, peaking in the 1980s.
- #12,791 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,869 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 206
- born since 1982
- 1980s
- peak decade
Tell's 206 recorded births place it above 71.86% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Tell compares
206 38th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Tell's all-time total is 44% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Tell | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 206 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 13 | 34 | 22,252 |
Tell's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Tell's SSA record in two at 1999 and the more recent half accounts for 47% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 53%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1995, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1988 peak of 13, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Tell popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1982–2025
- Peak year (1988)
- 13
- Annual births at peak, across 44 years of records
Tell by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (60 births, 29% of the file).
1980s was Tell's strongest decade.
60 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.
Tell births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s
1980s
60 births
- 1990s
1990s
55 births
- 2000s 10
2000s
10 births
- 2010s
2010s
49 births
- 2020s
2020s
32 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 60 births (29% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Tell's data
- Tell's usage has stayed within range of its 1980s decade-level peak (60 total births) through the 2020s (32) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Tell
Nearby Names Like Tell
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Tell
Compare Tell side by side: Tell vs Telly Tell vs Telvin Tell vs Telford
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Tell
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Tell: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1988)
Similar record span (~43 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1982–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Tell draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.