Taytum is a modern American spelling of Tatum, an English surname from a place name meaning "Tata's homestead". The actress Tatum O'Neal made the surname familiar as a girl's first name in the 1970s, and the y-spelling follows the current taste for names like Paytyn and Kaytlin. Taytum entered the top 1000 in 2021, peaked at number 681 in 2023 and ranks number 732 in 2025.