Tarina
A feminine name derived from an Italian word meaning "evening".
Name Census estimates that about 732 living Americans carry the first name Tarina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tarina today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarina births was 1974 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarina. 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 Tarina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
732
~ 1 in 468,244 Americans
Peak year
1974
41 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2007 SSA rank
#20,267
Tracked since 1957
Census
Tarina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 727 people with the first name Tarina, which placed it at #15,730 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
#15,730
National first-name rank
People counted
727
727 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tarina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarina is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Tarina 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 Tarina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.5% · 345
- Black or African American32.9% · 239
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 43
- Two or more races5.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 13
Popularity
Tarina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarina from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 301 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
Tarina 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 Tarina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tarinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Michigan, New York recorded the most babies named Tarina, while New York, Michigan, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tarina
The name Tarina is believed to have its origins in the Finnish language, stemming from the word "tarina," which means "story" or "tale." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with storytelling or narration in its early usage.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Tarina can be traced back to the 18th century in Finland, where it was primarily used as a feminine given name. During this time, Finnish culture placed a high value on oral traditions and folklore, which could explain the name's popularity and its ties to storytelling.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Tarina was Tarina Piispanen, a Finnish author and poet who lived from 1826 to 1895. Her works, which often drew inspiration from Finnish folklore and mythology, contributed significantly to the preservation and celebration of her country's cultural heritage.
Another prominent individual named Tarina was Tarina Kuusisto, a Finnish artist and illustrator born in 1947. Her intricate illustrations, which often accompanied children's books and fairy tales, brought many stories to life through her captivating visual narratives.
In the 19th century, the name Tarina gained some popularity outside of Finland, particularly in Sweden and other Nordic countries. One notable Swedish individual with this name was Tarina Lindström, a pioneering educator who lived from 1832 to 1917 and played a crucial role in establishing early childhood education programs in her country.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Tarina continued to appear across various cultural contexts. For instance, Tarina Patel was an Indian-born British author and activist who lived from 1915 to 2008. Her writings, which often explored themes of identity and social justice, made significant contributions to the literary landscape of her time.
While the name Tarina has maintained a presence throughout history, its usage has remained relatively modest compared to more widespread names. However, its connection to storytelling and the rich cultural heritage of Finland and the Nordic regions has secured its place as a unique and meaningful name with deep roots.
People
Tarina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarina 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
Tarina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarina 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 468,244 US residents.
Is Tarina a common name?
We classify Tarina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 803 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarina most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarina was 1974, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarina is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tarina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 727 people with the name Tarina, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,730 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 Tarina 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 Tarina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tarina appears almost entirely female. Of the 723 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 Tarina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarina is White at 47.5%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Tarina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tarina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.5% (345 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 Tarina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarina 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 Tarina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarina 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 Tarina 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 Tarina?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Tarina at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.