Teia
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "beautiful or precious".
Name Census estimates that about 985 living Americans carry the first name Teia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Teia today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teia births was 1980 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teia. 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 Teia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
985
~ 1 in 347,974 Americans
Peak year
1980
49 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,168
Tracked since 1957
Census
Teia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 870 people with the first name Teia, which placed it at #13,758 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
#13,758
National first-name rank
People counted
870
870 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teia is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Teia 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 Teia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.0% · 418
- Black or African American32.0% · 278
- Two or more races9.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 17
Popularity
Teia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teia from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 274 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
Teia 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 Teia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Teias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Michigan, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Teia, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Teia
The name Teia has its origins in the ancient Greek language, dating back to the classical period of Greece in the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "teio," which means "to honor" or "to revere." This name was often given to children as a way to honor the gods or goddesses of Greek mythology.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Teia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a woman by that name in his "Histories." However, the details about this individual are scarce, and it is unclear if she was a real person or a fictional character.
In Greek mythology, Teia was the name of one of the Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was said to be the personification of the virtue of honor and respect. This association with the mythological figure may have contributed to the popularity of the name among the ancient Greeks.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Teia was a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BC. She was a student of Plato and is believed to have made significant contributions to the field of geometry, although much of her work has been lost to history.
In the Middle Ages, the name Teia resurfaced in Europe, particularly in Italy and Greece. It was often used as a variant spelling of the name "Thea," which means "goddess" in Greek. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Teia Maurozome, a Byzantine noblewoman and scholar who lived in the 11th century AD.
During the Renaissance, the name Teia gained popularity among the intellectual and artistic circles of Italy. One of the most famous figures to bear this name was Teia Strozzi, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She was known for her contributions to the development of the Italian vernacular literature.
In the modern era, the name Teia has remained relatively uncommon, but it has been used sporadically in various cultures and regions. One notable figure was Teia Tephi, a Zimbabwean politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the 20th century.
While the name Teia may not be as widespread as some other names, its rich history and association with honor, respect, and intellectual pursuits make it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with cultural significance.
People
Teia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teia 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
Teia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 985 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teia 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 347,974 US residents.
Is Teia a common name?
We classify Teia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,047 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teia most popular?
The single biggest year for Teia was 1980, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teia is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 870 people with the name Teia, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,758 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 Teia 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 Teia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Teia appears almost entirely female. Of the 871 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Teia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teia is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Teia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Teia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.0% (418 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 Teia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teia 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 Teia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teia 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 Teia 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 Teia?
You can see how many Americans are named Teia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.