Taneshia
A feminine name believed to be a variant of Tanisha or Taneesha, originating from the Indian Sanskrit "Tana" meaning "tiny".
Name Census estimates that about 1,233 living Americans carry the first name Taneshia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Taneshia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taneshia births was 1987 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taneshia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Taneshia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 277,984 Americans
Peak year
1987
81 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2007 SSA rank
#13,809
Tracked since 1970
Census
Taneshia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,027 people with the first name Taneshia, which placed it at #12,202 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,202
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,027 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taneshia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taneshia is Black at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and White (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Taneshia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Taneshia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.6% · 941
- Two or more races3.3% · 34
- White2.8% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
Popularity
Taneshia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taneshia from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 615 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taneshia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Taneshia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Taneshias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Taneshia, while Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Taneshia
The name Taneshia has its roots in the African continent, believed to have originated from the Swahili language spoken in parts of East Africa. It is a blend of the words "tani," meaning "wealthy" or "prosperous," and "shia," which can be translated as "follower" or "disciple."
This name's origins can be traced back to the 19th century, when African cultures began to incorporate elements of Arabic and Islamic influences into their naming traditions. The name Taneshia was likely born out of this cultural exchange, reflecting the aspirations of parents for their children to lead prosperous lives while adhering to spiritual principles.
While there are no definitive historical records of the name's usage in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its linguistic roots suggest a connection to the rich cultural tapestry of the African continent, where names often carry deep symbolism and meaning.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Taneshia can be found in the writings of African-American author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, who introduced a character with this name in her 1937 novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God." This literary reference serves as a testament to the name's presence in the African-American community during the early 20th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Taneshia, leaving their mark in various fields. Here are five examples:
1. Taneshia Terrell (born 1985), an American professional basketball player who competed in the WNBA for teams like the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks.
2. Taneshia Reid (born 1980), a former Canadian track and field athlete who specialized in sprinting events and represented Canada at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
3. Taneshia Milliron (born 1987), an American singer and songwriter who gained recognition for her performances on the reality television show "American Idol" in 2009.
4. Taneshia Berry (born 1991), an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Aliyah, who has competed in promotions like WWE and Impact Wrestling.
5. Taneshia Longchamp (born 1978), a Canadian artist and sculptor known for her intricate metal wire sculptures and public art installations.
While the name Taneshia may have originated from humble beginnings, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained a diverse following, adorning the lives of individuals across various professions and backgrounds, each leaving their unique imprint on the world.
People
Taneshia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taneshia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Taneshia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taneshia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,233 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taneshia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 277,984 US residents.
Is Taneshia a common name?
We classify Taneshia as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taneshia most popular?
The single biggest year for Taneshia was 1987, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taneshia is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taneshia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,027 people with the name Taneshia, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,202 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Taneshia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Taneshia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taneshia appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,027 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Taneshia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taneshia is Black at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and White (2.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Taneshia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Taneshia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (941 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Taneshia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taneshia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taneshia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Taneshia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taneshia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Taneshia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Taneshia?
You can see how many people share the name Taneshia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.