Tessia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly Greek, meaning "pleasing" or "delightful".
Name Census estimates that about 350 living Americans carry the first name Tessia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tessia today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tessia births was 1991 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tessia. 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
350
~ 1 in 979,298 Americans
Peak year
1991
17 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2010 SSA rank
#16,811
Tracked since 1964
Census
Tessia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 360 people with the first name Tessia, which placed it at #26,062 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
#26,062
National first-name rank
People counted
360
360 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tessia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessia is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tessia 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 Tessia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.3% · 228
- Black or African American21.9% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 24
- Two or more races4.4% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 5
Popularity
Tessia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tessia from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 118 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tessia 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 Tessia 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 Tessia
The name Tessia finds its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "tesso," which means "four." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially used to refer to a fourth-born child or someone associated with the number four in some way.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tessia dates back to the 5th century BC in ancient Greek texts. It was a relatively uncommon name during this time period but was occasionally bestowed upon girls born into wealthy or influential families in the Greek city-states.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Tessia can be found in the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato. In his work "The Republic," Plato mentions a character named Tessia, who is described as a wise and educated woman involved in discussions on the nature of justice and the ideal society.
In the 3rd century BC, a notable figure named Tessia of Ephesus emerged as a prominent philosopher and teacher. She is credited with establishing a school of thought that blended elements of Stoicism and Platonism, and her teachings influenced many philosophers and scholars of her time.
During the Byzantine Empire, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Tessia gained some popularity among the Greek-speaking population. One noteworthy individual was Tessia of Constantinople, a renowned physician and herbalist who lived in the 9th century AD. She authored several influential works on the medicinal properties of plants and was highly regarded for her expertise in the field of natural remedies.
In the 12th century AD, a woman named Tessia of Thessaloniki was a prominent figure in the Eastern Orthodox Church. She was a nun who was known for her piety, wisdom, and philanthropic endeavors. Her writings on spiritual matters and her dedication to helping the poor and underprivileged earned her widespread respect and admiration.
Another historical figure with the name Tessia was Tessia of Crete, a skilled sculptor and artist who lived in the 16th century. Her intricate marble statues and detailed friezes adorned many churches and public buildings throughout the island of Crete, and her work was highly praised for its beauty and craftsmanship.
People
Tessia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tessia 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
Tessia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tessia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 350 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tessia 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 979,298 US residents.
Is Tessia a common name?
We classify Tessia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 371 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tessia most popular?
The single biggest year for Tessia was 1991, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tessia is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tessia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 360 people with the name Tessia, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,062 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 Tessia 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 Tessia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tessia appears almost entirely female. Of the 361 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Tessia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tessia is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tessia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tessia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.3% (228 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 Tessia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tessia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tessia 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 Tessia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tessia 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 Tessia 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 share the name Tessia?
Want to know how many people share the name Tessia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.