Taber

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Taber

Pronounced TAY-bur /ˈteɪ.bər/Medium

Meaning: Taber is a family name adopted as a first name. It most likely began as an English occupational surname for a player of the tabor, a small medieval drum, though some families connect it instead to the biblical Mount Tabor in Israel. Both routes are plausible, so the source is uncertain.Low

In 30 seconds: Taber is a surname-name from either a drummer's trade (tabor) or Mount Tabor. It stayed rare in the United States, peaking around 2003 (said TAY-bur).

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Origin LowEnglish, Hebrew

MeaningTaber is a family name adopted as a first name. It most likely began as an English occupational surname for a player of the tabor, a small medieval drum, though some families connect it instead to the biblical Mount Tabor in Israel. Both routes are plausible, so the source is uncertain.

U.S. rank (2015)#11905 ↗ Rising

2015 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year2003

Total births (all-time)≈ 413

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Taber is chiefly a surname pressed into service as a given name, a pattern that grew common in the United States in the late twentieth century. Its likely origin is the occupational term for a tabor-player, a medieval drummer, though the biblical Mount Tabor offers a second route. Its use as a first name is recent and modest.

Taber was never common as a first name in the United States, reaching only about twenty boys a year around its peak in 2003, part of the modern taste for crisp surname names. A boy named Taber then is still young today.

Did you know? The word tabor behind the surname Taber names a small medieval drum, once played alongside a pipe by a single musician - a whole one-man band folded into a family name.

Overall data confidence 40%

References - Taber — Surname-name; tabor (drummer) or Mount Tabor route uncertain

Variations

TaborTaiborTabber

Nicknames

Tab

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Taber mean?

It is a surname used as a first name, likely from an occupational term for a tabor-player (a drummer), or from Mount Tabor. Routes are uncertain.

How do you pronounce Taber?

It is said TAY-bur /ˈteɪ.bər/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Taber a boy or girl name?

Taber is used here as a boy's name.

How popular is Taber?

It has always been rare as a first name in the United States, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak in the early two-thousands.