Tannis
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "immortal" or "everlasting".
Name Census estimates that about 275 living Americans carry the first name Tannis. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Tannis today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tannis births was 1974 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tannis. 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.
People living today
275
~ 1 in 1,246,379 Americans
Peak year
1974
14 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2006 SSA rank
#12,889
Tracked since 1941
Census
Tannis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 486 people with the first name Tannis, which placed it at #21,031 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
#21,031
National first-name rank
People counted
486
486 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tannis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tannis is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Tannis 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 Tannis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.8% · 349
- Black or African American19.1% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 18
- Two or more races3.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Tannis
Tannis leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tannis as a male name
- Ranked #13,782 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Tannis as a female name
- Ranked #12,889 in 2005
- 8 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1974 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tannis on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 99 were male (20.0%) and 395 were female (80.0%).
Popularity
Tannis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tannis from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tannis 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 Tannis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tannis
The given name Tannis has its origins in Ancient Egypt, where it was derived from the Egyptian word "tn", which means "land" or "territory". The name was likely used to refer to the fertile lands along the Nile River, which were crucial for agriculture and sustenance in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tannis can be found in the ancient city of Tanis, located in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. Tanis, also known as Djanet or Per-Amesu, was an important administrative and religious center during the Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BC) and the Late Period (664-332 BC) of ancient Egyptian history.
In Greek mythology, Tannis was also associated with the figure of Proteus, a sea god who had the ability to change his shape and foretell the future. According to legend, Proteus lived near the city of Tanis, further solidifying the name's connection to the ancient Egyptian city.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tannis. One of the earliest recorded was Tannis, an ancient Egyptian princess who lived during the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC). She was the daughter of Pharaoh Psamtik I and held a prominent position in the royal court.
Another notable Tannis was Tannis Le Sanglier, a Norman knight who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. He was rewarded with lands in Somerset, England, for his service to William the Conqueror.
In the 14th century, Tannis Lautrec was a French nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He was awarded the title of Marshal of France for his bravery and military prowess.
During the Renaissance period, Tannis Vitelli was an Italian condottiero (mercenary leader) who fought in the Italian Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries. He was known for his strategic mind and served under various Italian rulers and city-states.
In more recent times, Tannis Makris was a Greek-American businessman and philanthropist (1919-2020) who made significant contributions to educational institutions and cultural organizations in both Greece and the United States.
People
Tannis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tannis 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
Tannis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tannis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 275 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tannis 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 1,246,379 US residents.
Is Tannis a common name?
We classify Tannis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tannis most popular?
The single biggest year for Tannis was 1974, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tannis is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tannis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 486 people with the name Tannis, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,031 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 Tannis 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 Tannis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tannis on both sides of the split. Of the 494 people counted with this name, 99 were male (20.0%) and 395 were female (80.0%). 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 Tannis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tannis is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (19.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Tannis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tannis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (349 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 Tannis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tannis a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Tannis 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 Tannis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tannis 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 Tannis 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 are called Tannis?
You can see how many people share the name Tannis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.