Tell
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- TEL
- Origin
- Germanic
- US rank, 2025
- #7,675 for boys
Tell is a boys' name of Germanic origin. In 2025 it ranked 7,675th for boys in the US (10 babies).
What does Tell mean?
Germanic: from William Tell, the Swiss folk hero
William Tell is the legendary Swiss marksman said to have shot an apple from his son's head.
Is Tell a girl's or a boy's name?
Tell is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Tell in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 7,675th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 10 about 1 in 170,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 10 boys in the US were named Tell, making it the 7,675th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 1988, with 13 boys. It first appears in the records in 1982.
It has been given to more boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had more boys named Tell than any year since 2015.
Half of all the boys named Tell in the US since 1880 were born between 1988 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
Tell in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #7,675 |
| 2024 | 8 | #8,982 |
| 2023 | 7 | #9,757 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 7 | #9,709 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 6 | #10,770 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 10 | #7,486 |
| 2014 | 5 | #12,102 |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 7 | #9,703 |
| 2011 | 8 | #8,760 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 5 | #12,486 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 5 | #12,048 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 5 | #9,905 |
| 1998 | 5 | #9,623 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,129 |
| 1995 | 5 | #8,861 |
| 1994 | 7 | #6,962 |
| 1993 | 9 | #5,764 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 9 | #5,513 |
| 1990 | 8 | #5,816 |
| 1989 | 6 | #6,934 |
| 1988 | 13 | #3,700 |
| 1987 | 10 | #4,233 |
| 1986 | 9 | #4,453 |
| 1985 | 8 | #4,693 |
| 1984 | 8 | #4,549 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 6 | #5,617 |
Names like Tell
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Miles, Tate, Rhett, Theo, Maxwell, Axel, Gael, Levi, Jett, Luke, Cal, Boone
Names related to Tell
More Germanic names
Amelia, Liam, Henry, Charlotte, William, Archie, Charlie, Emma, Freddie, Ella, Harry, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Louie, Alice
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Tell: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/tell, updated 20 October 2026.