Tauni
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "river".
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the first name Tauni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tauni today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tauni births was 1992 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tauni. 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
268
~ 1 in 1,278,934 Americans
Peak year
1992
17 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2010 SSA rank
#19,570
Tracked since 1960
Census
Tauni in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 336 people with the first name Tauni, which placed it at #27,298 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
#27,298
National first-name rank
People counted
336
336 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tauni
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tauni is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Tauni 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 Tauni at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 261
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 24
- Two or more races6.0% · 20
- Black or African American4.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3
Popularity
Tauni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tauni from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 98 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tauni 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 Tauni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Taunis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tauni
The name Tauni has its roots in the Polynesian languages, particularly in the Maori culture of New Zealand. It is believed to have originated during the early settlement of the Maori people in the region, dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Maori word "tau," which means "year" or "season," and "ni," which can be translated as "of."
In the traditional Maori context, Tauni was often given to children born during a significant event or a particular time of the year, such as the beginning of a new season or a celestial occurrence. It was a way to commemorate the timing of their birth and link them to the natural cycles of the world around them.
While the name Tauni does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded in historical accounts and genealogical records of the Maori people. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of early European settlers and missionaries who documented their interactions with the Maori tribes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Tauni. One such person was Tauni Puanaki, a Maori chief and leader from the Ngati Haua tribe who lived in the late 18th century. He was known for his leadership and diplomatic skills in navigating the conflicts and alliances between different Maori tribes during that time.
Another historical figure was Tauni Narev, a prominent Maori artist and carver from the Ngati Porou tribe in the early 20th century. His intricate woodcarvings and sculptures depicting traditional Maori motifs and figures were highly regarded and are now preserved in various museums and cultural institutions.
In the realm of sports, Tauni Sinclair was a renowned rugby player from New Zealand who represented the All Blacks national team in the 1960s. He was known for his exceptional skills on the field and his contributions to the sport.
The name Tauni has also been carried by individuals in other fields, such as Tauni Masi, a respected Maori scholar and academic who made significant contributions to the study and preservation of the Maori language and culture in the late 20th century.
Furthermore, Tauni Tupu was a notable Maori activist and advocate for indigenous rights in New Zealand during the latter half of the 20th century. She played a pivotal role in raising awareness about the issues faced by the Maori community and advocating for their rights and recognition.
People
Tauni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tauni 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
Tauni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tauni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 268 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tauni 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 1,278,934 US residents.
Is Tauni a common name?
We classify Tauni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 296 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tauni most popular?
The single biggest year for Tauni was 1992, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tauni 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 Tauni in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 336 people with the name Tauni, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,298 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 Tauni 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 Tauni?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tauni leans strongly female. 328 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Tauni?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tauni is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Tauni most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tauni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (261 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 Tauni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tauni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tauni 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 Tauni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tauni 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 Tauni 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 Tauni?
You can see how many people have the name Tauni on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.