Tanishia
An uncommon feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a modern invention.
Name Census estimates that about 526 living Americans carry the first name Tanishia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tanishia today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanishia births was 1982 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanishia. 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 Tanishia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
526
~ 1 in 651,624 Americans
Peak year
1982
34 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,653
Tracked since 1970
Census
Tanishia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 449 people with the first name Tanishia, which placed it at #22,241 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
#22,241
National first-name rank
People counted
449
449 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanishia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanishia is Black at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Tanishia 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 Tanishia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.2% · 369
- Two or more races6.2% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 23
- White4.2% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Tanishia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tanishia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 263 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Tanishia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tanishia 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 Tanishia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tanishias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Tanishia, while Texas, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanishia
The name Tanishia is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language and Indian culture. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "tanishtha," which means "the smallest" or "the youngest." In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, the word "tanishtha" was used to refer to the youngest child or the youngest member of a family or group.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tanishia can be traced back to the 16th century in parts of South Asia, particularly in regions that are now part of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. During this time, the name was commonly given to youngest daughters or children in Hindu families, reflecting its Sanskrit roots and meaning.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Tanishia was Tanishia Devi, a Hindu princess who lived in the 17th century in the region of present-day Rajasthan, India. Another notable figure from history who bore the name was Tanishia Bai, a renowned Indian classical dancer and courtesan who lived in the 18th century and was a prominent figure in the court of the Nawab of Awadh.
In the 19th century, the name Tanishia gained popularity among Indian communities in other parts of the world, including the Caribbean and South Africa. One significant historical figure with this name was Tanishia Ramgoolam, a South African activist and politician who played a crucial role in the anti-apartheid movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Another notable individual with the name Tanishia was Tanishia Kapoor, a pioneering Indian film actress who rose to prominence in the early 20th century and is often referred to as the "First Lady of Indian Cinema." Her birth name was Tanishia, although she was also known by her screen name, Devika Rani.
While the name Tanishia has its roots in Sanskrit and Indian culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly among communities with South Asian connections or influences. Over the centuries, the name has carried the symbolic meaning of youth, newness, and being the youngest or most recent addition to a family or group.
People
Tanishia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanishia 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
Tanishia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanishia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanishia 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 651,624 US residents.
Is Tanishia a common name?
We classify Tanishia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanishia most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanishia was 1982, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanishia is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tanishia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 449 people with the name Tanishia, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,241 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 Tanishia 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 Tanishia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tanishia appears almost entirely female. Of the 448 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Tanishia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanishia is Black at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Tanishia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tanishia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (369 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 Tanishia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tanishia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanishia 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 Tanishia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tanishia 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 Tanishia 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 common is the name Tanishia?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Tanishia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.