The curious name Tab first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the early 1950s:
- 1955: 43 baby boys named Tab
- 1954: 13 baby boys named Tab
- 1953: 6 baby boys named Tab [debut]
- 1952: unlisted
- 1951: unlisted
Where did it come from?
Hollywood actor Tab Hunter, whose first three starring roles were in the movies The Island of Desire (1952), Gun Belt (1953), and The Steel Lady (1953).
He went on to be featured in a number of other films, including Battle Cry (1955) and The Burning Hills (1956).
Hunter’s version of the song “Young Love” [vid], which shot to #1 on multiple Billboard charts in early 1957, is likely what pushed the name Tab to peak usage the same year. (Fun fact: “Young Love” prevented Elvis Presley‘s “Too Much” from reaching #1 on the Top 100 — a precursor to today’s Hot 100.)
But the actor’s real name wasn’t “Tab Hunter.” It was Arthur Gelien. According to his autobiography, the stage name was coined by talent agent Henry Willson:
Henry and Dick [Clayton] shot a bunch of horrible-sounding options back and forth. I kept my mouth shut, mortified. I’d always known that “Gelien” would never pass muster. Nobody had ever pronounced it right. (It’s Ga-LEEN.) But what surprised me was they were discussing first names. Granted, I hated “Arthur” — only my mother got away with calling me that. But having grown up as Art, I never figured on being anyone but Art…ever.
(…)
Exasperated, Henry finally said, “C’mon, we’ve got to tab him something.” He thought…for about two more seconds. “Hey, that’s not bad,” he announced. “Tab.” He turned to me. “What do you like to do, Tab? Got any hobbies?
I didn’t know where Henry was going with this.
Dick was way ahead: “He loves horses. Rides hunters and jumpers.”
“There we go,” said Henry, flashing a satisfied smile. “Tab Hunter.”
Hunter went on to say that he took consolation in the fact that he wasn’t named Tab Jumper.
What are your thoughts on the name Tab?
P.S. The 1963 introduction of the diet soft drink TaB — its name a reference to “people keeping ‘tabs’ on their weight” — doesn’t seem to have affected the usage of the name in the ’60s.
Sources:
- Tab Hunter – Wikpedia
- Hunter, Tab and Eddie Muller. Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2006.
- List of Billboard number-one singles of 1957 – Wikipedia
- Tab – Brand Fact Sheet – Coca-Cola
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Island of Desire
[Latest update: Oct. 2025]
My friend’s middle name is Tab.