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I think this is the fat you use for candles.

It has a nice ring to it, but it’s just another word for fat.

all i can think of is Taillow, the swallow pokémon. sorry

Males me think of Taillow, one of the bird Pokemon.

If you have a personal association with it, by all means use the name if you like it. My opinion should't change how you think of the name. I don't think it personally sounds like Willow that much.

Can't even imagine it on a fictional character without snickering. I just think of fat.

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And I don't think the sound is that great either.

It’s not a made up name. It comes from the word Tallow, which is essentially fat. I can’t imagine a more humiliating name I feel I ended up having trouble with my weight.

Not really a fan. Makes me think of candles and fat. The sound is nice though, but it's hard to get over the connotations I have for it.

Nobody with access to a dictionary would use it anyway.

No. I'm sure at least one person has already pointed this out, but tallow is "the white nearly tasteless solid rendered fat of cattle and sheep used chiefly in soap, candles, and lubricants". So no. The tree doesn't counteract that.

It reminds me of Fallow, which I once made a poll about: https://www.behindthename.com/polls/208508

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I wonder which one of the two people would like best. I like each of them equally, though Fallow is perhaps an itty little bit more effortless to pronounce.

I don't consider words names made up, if they're spelled correctly. That said, Tallow isn't a great one imo, because a word having a pleasant enough sound doesn't outweigh the reality of the word's definition...it's like naming your kid Fat because you like the sound.

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It'd change my mind a little if the person using it had some reason to regard tallow trees as significant, but that doesn't seem likely.

This message was edited 2/1/2019, 11:36 PM

I like the name.
I know a Tallow (born 2001), hes the typical Australian surfer kid, long wavey blonde hair, who pissed off all the teachers at school.
Thats all I think of.
Very usable imo.

I had the "fat/candles" reaction at first as well. I could see it as either a fantasy or low-class medieval character.

While I do enjoy the imagery/ambiance of candles, the word, “tallow” does not, for me, feel pleasant or appropriate as a person’s name. Meaning aside, I don’t mind the actual sound, but don’t love it, either. I’m sorry to say the tree isn’t any help where the “tallow” spelling is concerned and, to be honest, that connection feels counterintuitive as the tree really isn’t “tallow-ood”, but a “tallo-wood”. Maybe this is just me and my personal brand of OCD, but I would hypothetically imagine a person named after a Tallowood tree to be either Tallo or Woody. Of course, the sound of Tallo would still likely be associated with tallow.

I like it, but it feels more feminine than masculine. The tree associations just make me like it even more.

I kinda of like it but in a GP sort of way. A name I wouldn't mind coming across in a book (being used in theory I suppose you could say) as opposed to real life.
Willow is endearing.

It sounds interesting but I just think of fat/candles/lanterns.

Like the others said, tallow is animal fat. The tree doesn't make it a viable name.

not to close to Willow ...

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Too close to beef fat.
I'm amazed that this is not the first time this "name" has been mentioned on this board.
I think it's really, really stupid, and ugly. Doesn't change anything that there's a tallowwood tree; we have dogwood trees here and that doesn't mean it's okay to name your kid Dog.

I associate it with rendered beef fat. Not a great association for a name. It's like name your child Lard. It also rhymes with sallow. Tally is a cute nickname, but it is about the ok nly redeeming quality imo.