Tenleigh
Feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially related to "meadow-lea".
Name Census estimates that about 246 living Americans carry the first name Tenleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tenleigh today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tenleigh births was 2011 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tenleigh. 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
246
~ 1 in 1,393,310 Americans
Peak year
2011
36 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,997
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Tenleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tenleigh from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 191 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tenleigh 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 Tenleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tenleighs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tenleigh
The name Tenleigh is a relatively modern invention, likely created by combining existing names or word roots from various languages. It does not have a definitive origin or historical background. However, we can examine the potential components that may have inspired its creation.
The first part of the name, "Ten," could be derived from the Old English word "tenn," which means "thin" or "slender." Alternatively, it might be inspired by the Welsh word "tyn," meaning "stretch" or "extend." There is also a possibility that it is related to the Sanskrit word "tanu," meaning "body" or "slender."
The latter part of the name, "leigh," is a common English surname suffix that originated from the Old English word "leah," meaning "a meadow" or "a clearing." It was often used in place names to denote a specific location.
While there are no definitive historical references or ancient texts mentioning the name Tenleigh, we can explore some notable individuals who shared similar names or name components throughout history.
1. Tenuncia (fl. 98 AD) was a Roman noblewoman and the wife of Pliny the Younger, a renowned author and lawyer during the Roman Empire.
2. Tancred of Hauteville (c. 990-1041) was a Norman nobleman and one of the leaders of the Norman conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century.
3. Tanvir Naqvi (1916-2014) was a Pakistani poet, playwright, and scholar known for his contributions to Urdu literature and his advocacy for women's rights.
4. Tanya Reinhart (1944-2007) was an Israeli linguist and academic, known for her work in theoretical linguistics and her political activism.
5. Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, one of the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, along with Edmund Hillary.
While the name Tenleigh may be a modern construct, it could potentially draw inspiration from various linguistic roots and cultural influences, creating a unique and personalized name for individuals in the present day.
People
Tenleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tenleigh 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
Tenleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tenleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 246 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tenleigh 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 1,393,310 US residents.
Is Tenleigh a common name?
We classify Tenleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 248 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tenleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Tenleigh was 2011, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tenleigh is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Tenleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tenleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tenleigh 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 Tenleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tenleigh 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 Tenleigh 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Tenleigh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.