Tashona
A unique feminine name of unknown origin.
Name Census estimates that about 177 living Americans carry the first name Tashona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tashona today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tashona births was 1990 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tashona. 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
177
~ 1 in 1,936,465 Americans
Peak year
1990
13 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2006 SSA rank
#16,931
Tracked since 1971
Census
Tashona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 157 people with the first name Tashona, which placed it at #44,257 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
#44,257
National first-name rank
People counted
157
157 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tashona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tashona is Black at 88.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Tashona 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 Tashona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.5% · 139
- White4.5% · 7
- Two or more races4.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Tashona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tashona 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 70 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
Tashona 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 Tashona 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 Tashona
The given name Tashona is believed to have its origins in the Fulani language, spoken by the Fulani people of West Africa. The Fulani, also known as Peul or Fulbe, are a widely dispersed ethnic group found across many countries in the Sahel and West Africa, including Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sudan.
Tashona is thought to be a feminine name derived from the Fulani word "tashon," which means "luck" or "fortune." The name is associated with the concept of good luck, prosperity, and blessings, reflecting the cultural and spiritual beliefs of the Fulani people.
While the exact origins of the name are not entirely clear, some historical records suggest that it may have been used among the Fulani communities as early as the 16th or 17th century. However, written documentation from that time period is scarce, making it difficult to pinpoint the earliest recorded instances of the name.
One of the earliest known references to the name Tashona can be found in the writings of Ahmed Baba, a renowned Timbuktu scholar and writer who lived from 1556 to 1627. In his works, he mentions a woman named Tashona from a prominent Fulani family, suggesting that the name was in use during that era.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who carried the name Tashona. One example is Tashona Musa (1875-1952), a Fulani leader and spiritual guide from Senegal, who was celebrated for her wisdom and dedication to preserving the cultural traditions of her people.
Another prominent figure was Tashona Diallo (1892-1976), a Fulani poet and storyteller from Mali, whose works helped to preserve the oral traditions and folktales of the Fulani culture.
In the realm of education, Tashona Keita (1920-2005) was a Fulani scholar and teacher from Guinea, who dedicated her life to promoting literacy and education among the Fulani communities.
In the field of art, Tashona Bah (1932-2010) was a renowned Fulani sculptor and carver from Senegal, whose works showcased the rich artistic traditions of her people.
Additionally, Tashona Mbaye (1945-2018) was a Fulani activist and community leader from Mauritania, who worked tirelessly to advocate for the rights and empowerment of the Fulani people in her region.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who carried the name Tashona throughout history, highlighting its cultural significance and the diverse contributions made by those who bore this name.
People
Tashona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tashona 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
Tashona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tashona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 177 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tashona 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 1,936,465 US residents.
Is Tashona a common name?
We classify Tashona as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tashona most popular?
The single biggest year for Tashona was 1990, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tashona 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 Tashona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 157 people with the name Tashona, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,257 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 Tashona 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 Tashona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tashona appears almost entirely female. Of the 155 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 Tashona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tashona is Black at 88.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Tashona most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tashona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (139 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 Tashona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tashona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tashona 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 Tashona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tashona 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 Tashona 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 Americans are named Tashona?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.