Tessah
A feminine name of English origin meaning "to gather or pick."
Name Census estimates that about 262 living Americans carry the first name Tessah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tessah today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tessah births was 2007 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tessah. 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
262
~ 1 in 1,308,223 Americans
Peak year
2007
20 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,076
Tracked since 1990
Census
Tessah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 235 people with the first name Tessah, which placed it at #34,648 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
#34,648
National first-name rank
People counted
235
235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tessah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessah is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Tessah 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 Tessah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 177
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 28
- Two or more races6.4% · 15
- Black or African American4.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 5
Popularity
Tessah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tessah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tessah 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 Tessah 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 Tessah
The name Tessah originates from the ancient Aramaic language, which was spoken in parts of the Middle East and surrounding regions during the 8th century BCE to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Aramaic word "tessa," meaning "joy" or "delight." The name was particularly prevalent in ancient Mesopotamia, which encompassed modern-day Iraq, parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tessah can be found in the Aramaic inscriptions from the 5th century BCE, discovered in the ancient city of Persepolis, located in modern-day Iran. These inscriptions suggest that the name was used by members of the Persian nobility during the Achaemenid Empire.
In the 3rd century BCE, the name Tessah appeared in the Septuagint, the earliest known Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. This reference indicates that the name had spread to the Jewish communities in the ancient world and was likely used by some Jewish families at that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tessah. One of the earliest was Tessah of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE and was executed during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Decius.
In the 6th century CE, Tessah was the name of a prominent Sassanid Persian noblewoman who served as a trusted advisor to the Persian king Khosrau I. Her influence and wisdom were highly regarded at the time, and she played a significant role in the cultural and political affairs of the Sassanid Empire.
During the Middle Ages, Tessah was the name of a renowned Arabic poet and scholar who lived in the 9th century CE. Her poetry was widely celebrated for its eloquence and depth, and she was considered one of the most influential literary figures of her time.
In the 15th century, Tessah was the name of a respected Italian Renaissance painter who was known for her exquisite portraits and religious works. Her paintings can be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy, showcasing her artistic talent and contribution to the Renaissance art movement.
Another notable figure named Tessah was a 17th-century Dutch explorer and navigator who led several expeditions to the East Indies and made significant contributions to the mapping and charting of the region. Her voyages and discoveries played a crucial role in expanding the Dutch maritime presence in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia.
While the name Tessah has its roots in ancient history, it has maintained its significance and appeal throughout various cultures and time periods, with notable individuals bearing this name and leaving their mark on various fields, from religion and literature to art and exploration.
People
Tessah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tessah 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
Tessah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tessah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 262 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tessah 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 1,308,223 US residents.
Is Tessah a common name?
We classify Tessah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tessah most popular?
The single biggest year for Tessah was 2007, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tessah is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tessah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 235 people with the name Tessah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,648 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 Tessah 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 Tessah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tessah appears almost entirely female. Of the 244 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 Tessah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessah is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Tessah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tessah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (177 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 Tessah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tessah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tessah 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 Tessah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tessah 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 Tessah 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 Tessah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.