Tanishka
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "one who pleases".
Name Census estimates that about 361 living Americans carry the first name Tanishka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tanishka today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanishka births was 2016 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanishka. 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 Tanishka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
361
~ 1 in 949,458 Americans
Peak year
2016
34 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,160
Tracked since 2004
Census
Tanishka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 411 people with the first name Tanishka, which placed it at #23,711 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
#23,711
National first-name rank
People counted
411
411 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanishka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanishka is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Tanishka 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 Tanishka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.1% · 362
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 30
- Black or African American1.9% · 8
- White1.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
- Two or more races0.5% · 2
Popularity
Tanishka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tanishka from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 203 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Tanishka remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tanishka 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 Tanishka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tanishkas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Tanishka, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanishka
The name Tanishka has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is a feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "tanishtha," which means "the smallest" or "the most delicate." This suggests that the name may have been given to newborn babies or young children to signify their delicate and fragile nature.
In ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and Upanishads, there are references to the concept of "tanishtha" in various contexts, although the name itself is not explicitly mentioned. It is believed that the name gained popularity during the medieval period in India, particularly among Hindu communities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tanishka can be found in the 12th century Sanskrit text "Prabandhacintamani" by Merutunga Acharya, where it is mentioned as the name of a female character. However, there are no detailed historical records about the significance or prevalence of the name during this time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tanishka:
1. Tanishka Chatterjee (born 1980), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer known for her contributions to Odissi dance.
2. Tanishka Kapoor (born 1995), an Indian television actress known for her roles in various soap operas.
3. Tanishka Majumdar (born 1992), an Indian classical singer and music composer specializing in Hindustani classical music.
4. Tanishka Sodhi (born 1987), an Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur based in New Delhi.
5. Tanishka Vyas (born 1996), an Indian cricketer who has represented the Indian national women's cricket team.
It is worth noting that while the name Tanishka has Sanskrit roots and a historical presence in ancient Indian texts, its widespread popularity and usage as a given name is a relatively modern phenomenon. The name's meaning and associations with delicacy and fragility have likely contributed to its enduring appeal among parents seeking meaningful and unique names for their daughters.
People
Tanishka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanishka 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
Tanishka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanishka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 361 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanishka 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 949,458 US residents.
Is Tanishka a common name?
We classify Tanishka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 364 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanishka most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanishka was 2016, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanishka is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tanishka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 411 people with the name Tanishka, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,711 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 Tanishka 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 Tanishka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tanishka appears almost entirely female. Of the 412 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 Tanishka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanishka is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Tanishka most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tanishka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (362 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 Tanishka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tanishka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanishka 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 Tanishka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tanishka 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 Tanishka 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 have the name Tanishka?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Tanishka at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.