Tate Britain gallery; Image via Wikipedia
Tate is modern, but is our Baby Name of the Day meant for boys or girls?
Thanks to Lili for suggesting this rising star.
Purists sometimes insist that all surnames are reserved for boys, but that overlooks many a tradition – from preppy New England families to old Southern ones – that routinely bestow family surnames regardless of gender. Tate brings to mind both the impeccably feminine Kate and the related, but also oft-given-to-girls Tatum.
All of the Tat- surnames are usually attributed to a lost medieval name, Tata. It isn’t clear if that name was feminine or masculine. One source suggests it was an Anglo-Saxon female diminutive; others suggest it is linked to the Old Norse given name Teitr or Teitur, meaning cheerful. Let’s say that the name must have been fairly common, as we can trace plenty of surnames back to this single root.
It almost doesn’t matter. For many people today, say Tate, and you’re talking about art – modern art, as housed by Great Britain’s family of museums, named in honor of philanthropist Henry Tate. Tate made his fortune in sugar cubes, took up collecting contemporary art, and eventually donated his treasures to form the foundation of today’s museums. Even though Tate never picked up a paintbrush, it lends the name as creative a spirit as Leonardo or Jackson. Henry Tate’s collection was just 65 pieces; today, the four museums boast over 60,000 works.
The philanthropist wasn’t the only notable Tate. There’s also:
- Late seventeenth century Irish-born poet Nahum Tate;
- Short-lived fictional gunslinger Tate, a black and white television cowboy for a single season in 1960. He was played by David McLean, better known as the Marlboro Man;
- Promising actress Sharon Tate is remembered as a victim of the Manson family murders. Her mother and sisters became leaders in the victim’s rights movement, and are credited with a number of reforms;
- ITV soap opera Emmerdale features a character named Zoe Tate and Search for Tomorrow’s cast included Patti Tate.
Throw in a chess champion and a few football stars, politicians and at least one comedienne, mathematicians and musicians, and it is tough to pigeon-hole Tate.
Despite Tate’s brief television tenure, some parents have embraced him along with cowpoke picks like Wyatt and Gage.
You might have heard him as a first name on two men:
- Actor Tate Donovan, best known for his role on FX’s Damages, but seen in many a television guest spot;
- A fictional baseball player appearing on One Life to Live in 2007, though Tate Harmon ended up being a serious bad guy.
Regardless of the inspiration, the name is catching on. Nancy’s exhaustive 2009 list gives us boys called Tayt (6 of them), Taite (8 total), Tayte (19), Tait (33), and Tate (628).
628 boys called Tate puts this name solidly in the Top 1000, where he’s been since 1990, ranking a respectable #442 in 2009. He’s down just a few spots from 2007’s peak of #407 – when the soap opera character was on-screen.
He’s an alternative to Finn or Jake, but also Brooke and Paige. Spare, modern Tate manages to be appropriate for the 21st century without feeling rootless or invented. It’s easy to see him catching on, but that hasn’t happened … yet.
Nise says
July 27, 2015 at 8:01 PMMy daughter just turned 18 today and her name is Tait….and yes she was called potato and taiter tot, and tater bug when she was mean little bugger, but she loved all the nick names. For a long while she insisted everyone call her Tait’er tot.
I have asked her many times do you like your name, as she has to spell for people frequently. She says “Mom, when someone texts me I don’t know which Sarah, or Emily, or Mary it is, but when I text someone they only know one Tait, so yeah I love my name! It’s me, and I love being a Tait”
Kenway says
May 8, 2012 at 6:07 AMi think the name Tate is adorable. I have a friend called Tate and he’s gorgeous and brilliant. I call him tato because of potatoes sounding like his name
Faith Brown says
February 28, 2012 at 12:38 PMI love the name Tate for a boy, and Tayte for a girl. It is what my baby’s name is I love it, and always get complimented!
Names4Real says
October 12, 2010 at 12:16 PMI’ve always loved Tate. He’s on my list. I (used to) love Taylor for a boy, but now it’s too girly, but I love Tate, and can still call him Tay.
Panya says
October 12, 2010 at 1:17 AMI’ve always adored Tate. My husband would name our son Marian Tate in a heartbeat — he LOVES this combo.
Julie says
October 11, 2010 at 2:32 PMCheesy, romance book time. There’s a series of books written by Linda Lael Miller about the McKettrick family. Typical westerns, with stereotypical cowboy names for the men, long story short… one of them is named Tate.
(I couldn’t finish Wurthering Heights, but I “managed” to read this muck.)
Charlotte Vera says
October 11, 2010 at 11:55 AMPopular 1990s Christian band DC Talk had a member named Michael Tate. When the group disbanded he went on to start his own (short-lived) band simply called Tate.
I have to say that the name reads boy to me too. Something about its brevity also makes it sound like a nickname, so I’m not particularly fond of it.
Incidentally, Tata is a family name in India, most famously worn by the owners of the Tata company, which produced India’s cheap car and successfully clogged up India’s already busy streets. In Sanskrit, I think the name means father.
appellationmountain says
October 11, 2010 at 6:36 PMCharlotte, tata is Polish for dad, too! Interesting that you can drive one in India …
Nicole says
October 11, 2010 at 10:58 AMI know a little girl named Tatum.. and as a semi-nick name they call her Tate. I like Tatum on her, its unique and fits her spunkiness … but I also think that grandma as a pet name calls her tater tot … I think its cute… kinda like calling your kid pumpkin, but hers fits her name
Eva says
October 11, 2010 at 10:22 AMTate reminds me of tater tots, and while I love potatoes in any form, its not a name I would want to give a child.
Ellie says
October 11, 2010 at 10:09 AMTate always sounds feminine to me. It reminds me a lot of Kate, but I think it’s also due to the reason that the only Tate I know is a six year old girl.
Joy says
October 11, 2010 at 8:07 AMTate skews boy to me, due to actors like Tate Donovan, but also a movie called Little Man Tate. Also, it was the name of Aidan’s baby on Sex And The City.
It’s cute, but I’d use it only if the surname was in my family tree.
appellationmountain says
October 11, 2010 at 6:38 PMWas it? I clearly remember the scene where Aidan is wearing Tate in a Baby Bjorn and I remember him having a potato-related nickname, and yet Tate never rang a bell …
But I just Googled it, and sure enough: Homer, Wyatt, and Tate!
How could I forget Little Man Tate?
Joy says
October 11, 2010 at 8:46 PMI think he said, His name is Tate, but I call him Tater because he kind of looks like one.