Could somebody please explain to me why [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name] think that [name]Tatum[/name] is feminine? There is nothing in this name’s look, sound, feel, origin, or meaning that suggests girl (at least to me). [name]Tatum[/name] is a family surname that I’ve become interested in lately for a handful of reasons, and I was surprised to find that it’s a unisex name and one more popular for girls at that. Am I missing something?
[name]Tatum[/name] O’[name]Neal[/name]?
Rankings- since the mid 1990’s it has been mostly listed in the top 1000 for girls and has only just entered for boys.
To be honest I am more surprised they list it as unisex.
I thought it was a girls name before I became more interested in names. I knew a girl in school named [name]Tatum[/name], and it just always seemed feminine to me. Of course, before I became more of a name nerd I thought [name]Kerrigan[/name] and [name]Camden[/name] were only girls names so who knows if my opinion counts.
I’ve never met anyone named [name]Tatum[/name] as a first name, so maybe that has something to do with it? I’ve only ever heard it as a surname. I also didn’t know who [name]Tatum[/name] O’[name]Neal[/name] was until I looked up the name and then searched her on Google…
There used to be a poster here who named her son [name]Tatum[/name]. I think it is workable as a boy’s name too, hence unisex. It’s not like it is too popular for girls to be unusable for boys and also it is growing for boys too.
[name]Just[/name] looked at the number of births for 2011. There were 920 girl Tatums and 311 boy Tatums, as compared to 2010 when there were 960 girl Tatums and 299 boy Tatums. So it really isn’t that popular at all for either sex.
I’ve always found this confusing as well. [name]Tatum[/name] has such a hard sound to it and doesn’t sound remotely feminine to my ears.
[name]Tatum[/name] doesn’t sound feminine, but it’s from a surname and it was used for girls first and more frequently. So I guess that’s the logic? It’s a non-patronymic surname, though, so it really is unisex.
I don’t think [name]Tatum[/name] sounds feminine at all; however, I do know 2 female Tatums [name]IRL[/name]. Shrug.
my cousin is named [name]Tatum[/name] [name]Alexis[/name], she’s 11.
i never really thought about it as a male name until i saw this, ive always thought it as a female name except for [name]Channing[/name] [name]Tatum[/name] but thats hes last name
I’m with you, i think it sounds masculine if anyone’s going to use it as a first name at all. and i find it pretty darn unattractive on either a boy or a girl…
Two words… [name]Tatum[/name] O’[name]Neil[/name]
I find this name completely unattractive for either gender, but that’s just my opinion and I don’t have anything against anyone using it for a boy or girl. 
I’ve heard of one girl [name]Tatum[/name], she might be 5 now? I don’t know her personally though.
I only know one [name]Tatum[/name], and she’s a girl. I think [name]Channing[/name] [name]Tatum[/name] makes it seem more masculine, but I’ve only ever heard of it as a girl name.
Always thought of it as a girls’ name bc of [name]Tatum[/name] O’[name]Neal[/name] and my 10 year old niece is [name]Tatum[/name].
I am completely neutral on the name.
I know a little girl named [name]Tatum[/name] with [name]Hadley[/name] for a sister. I guess it’s unisex but I’ve only ever heard it on girls.
That being said, I think it is a wholly unattractive name… all I think of are tater tots/mashed potatoes for some reason!
Yikes! This is quite the harsh forum. I named my son [name_u]Tatum[/name_u] in 2007 and hadn’t really met any other boys with the name until he turned three. That being said, I know everyone is entitled to their opinion but gee whiz. I decided on that name because it had a correlation with “cheerful” and it’s rather simple. I guess anything can go either way these days.
Wow! This is an old thread. Closing it now.