| Taiwo | Ife | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | First-born of twins | Love |
| Origin | yoruba | yoruba |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | TIE-woh | EE-feh |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1970 |
| Peak year | 1992 (10) | 1977 (16) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Taiwo | Ife |
|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 24 | 42 |
| 2000s | 29 | 18 |
| 1990s | 48 | 20 |
| 1980s | 18 | 40 |
| 1970s | 28 | 82 |
A Yoruba twin-order name for the first-born twin, from a phrase meaning roughly 'the first to taste the world' (to-aye-wo). Paired with Kehinde, the second twin; unisex.
From Yoruba ife, 'love.' It also serves as a short form of theophoric names such as Ifeoluwa ('love of God'). A distinct, unrelated Yoruba word Ife also names the ancient city Ile-Ife.
Taiwo and Ife are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Taiwo means First-born of twins (yoruba origin), while Ife means Love (yoruba origin).
In US records, Taiwo first appears in 0 and Ife in 1970, so Taiwo has the longer recorded history.