Recent in Baby
When Baby Resists SolidsWhen Baby Resists SolidsBaby Biting TipsBaby Biting Tips5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair Injuries5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair InjuriesWhen Baby and Pet MeetWhen Baby and Pet MeetTreatments for ColicTreatments for ColicBaby Milestones – The First YearBaby Milestones – The First YearTips for Relieving Teething PainTips for Relieving Teething PainBenefits of Making Your Own Baby FoodBenefits of Making Your Own Baby Food

Home › Baby Names Directory › Tailor

Tailor

♀ Girl

Pronounced TAY-lur /ˈteɪ.lɚ/High

Meaning: Tailor is a word-name spelling of Taylor, the occupational surname from Old French tailleur, 'cutter,' one who tails or cuts cloth. This variant simply restores the trade word's ordinary spelling; the meaning is the tailor's craft behind the surname Taylor.Medium

In 30 seconds: Tailor is Taylor spelled as the trade word — the occupational name for one who cuts cloth (said 'TAY-lur'). A late-century word-name that peaked in the late nineteen-nineties.
💕 Browse more names
Origin MediumEnglish, Old French
MeaningTailor is a word-name spelling of Taylor, the occupational surname from Old French tailleur, 'cutter,' one who tails or cuts cloth. This variant simply restores the trade word's ordinary spelling; the meaning is the tailor's craft behind the surname Taylor.
U.S. rank (2024)#15018 ↗ Rising
2024 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1997
Total births (all-time)≈ 970

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 199719882024

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

Tailor is a word-name variant of Taylor, the occupational surname from Old French tailleur, 'cutter of cloth.' It appeared as parents took up Taylor as a unisex first name in the nineteen-nineties, some choosing the plain trade spelling. Tailor reached its small high around 1997 at close to a hundred girls a year.

Tailor stayed a minority spelling beside the very popular Taylor and eased off in the twenty-tens, though a scattering of girls carried it into the twenty-twenties. It reads as a nineties word-name; the surname spelling Taylor remains the standard, with Tailor the literal-word variant.

Did you know? Tailor makes plain what Taylor hides: the name is simply the occupation of the cloth-cutter, from Old French tailler, 'to cut' — a medieval workshop trade turned modern first name.
Overall data confidence 60%
References — Tailor — word-name spelling of Taylor < 'cutter of cloth'

Variations

TaylorTaylerTailer

Nicknames

TaiLor

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Tailor…

Taylor— the standard name Tailor respells
Tayler— a like respelling of the same occupational name
Harper— a like occupational surname-name popular on girls
Piper— a same-style trade word-name of the era

Explore names like Tailor

By thememodernword-nameninetiesoccupational

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Tailor mean?

Tailor is a word-name spelling of Taylor, from the occupation of the tailor, one who cuts cloth; it carries that meaning.

How do you pronounce Tailor?

It's said TAY-lur /ˈteɪ.lɚ/ — two syllables, stress on the first, like Taylor.

Is Tailor a boy or girl name?

Tailor is used here as a girl's name; the underlying Taylor is used for both.

How popular is Tailor?

Tailor was an uncommon word-name spelling that peaked in the late nineteen-nineties and has always trailed the standard Taylor.

💬 Ask Nia