Tale

TAHL-eh
Norwegian, German, Norse
"noble; thunder; story"

Tale Origin and Meaning

The name Tale is a girl's name of German, Norse, Norwegian origin meaning "noble; thunder; story".

A gentle sounding name with multiple origins, Tale may be a variation of Thale, a popular choice in Norway. As such, it comes from either the Germanic element adal and is used as shortform of Adalheid, or it is a variant of Tole and Tóli, diminutives of Old Norse names that evoke the thunder god, Thor.

Other possibilities include that it is a Latvian nickname for Natālija ("born at Christmas") or from the word tāle meaning "far away; distance". Alternatively, it may be from the Old Norse tala, meaning "speech", in turn linking it to telling tales, stories, and narratives.

There's also the Azerbaijani Tale, from the Arabic tali, associating the name with luck, fortune, and destiny. While it is traditionally masculine, it has been used as a feminine name in Azerbaijan.

While it is typically pronounced as TAH-leh or TAHL-eh rather than to rhyme with the English "tail" or "pale", if it was said like this, then it may also be considered a slightly whimsical word name.