Tel
Tel is a name with a single cultural origin: English.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Tel
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Tel is a name with a single cultural origin: English.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Tel
The earliest SSA record of Tel as a baby boy name dates back to 1985, when 11 babies received it. 1985 was its biggest year on record, with 11 newborns named Tel — #3,806 in the national rankings. About 33% of every Tel on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Tel last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 8 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 194 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1980s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Tel
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Tel. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Tel
Phonetically similar names — useful when Tel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tel
What does the name Tel mean?
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How popular is Tel in 2026?
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About the name Tel
Tel is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1985 and has accumulated 194 births in the dataset. Tel's peak popularity came in 1985 when it ranked #3,806. Use the chart and map above to compare Tel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1985 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.