Timiya
A feminine name of African origin meaning "precious gift".
Name Census estimates that about 180 living Americans carry the first name Timiya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Timiya today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Timiya births was 2012 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Timiya. 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
180
~ 1 in 1,904,191 Americans
Peak year
2012
16 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2015 SSA rank
#16,263
Tracked since 1996
Census
Timiya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 185 people with the first name Timiya, which placed it at #40,305 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
#40,305
National first-name rank
People counted
185
185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Timiya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Timiya is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Timiya 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 Timiya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.1% · 163
- Two or more races6.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 5
- White1.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 2
Popularity
Timiya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Timiya from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 106 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Timiya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Timiya 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 Timiya 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 Timiya
The name Timiya is a relatively modern invention, with its origins rooted in the Arabic language. It is believed to be a feminized variation of the male name Taimur, which itself derives from the Turkic name Temür, meaning "iron" or "steel." This connection suggests that Timiya may carry connotations of strength, resilience, and fortitude.
Timiya is not widely documented in historical records or ancient texts, as it is a more recent coinage. However, its linguistic roots can be traced back to the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, who played a significant role in the spread of Islamic culture and the Arabic language across vast regions.
While the name Timiya itself does not have a long historical lineage, it has been adopted by individuals across various cultures and regions in recent times. One notable bearer of the name was Timiya Nayebzadah, an Afghan author and women's rights activist born in 1974. Her work focused on promoting education and empowerment for women in Afghanistan.
Another notable figure with the name Timiya is Timiya Nigatu, an Ethiopian long-distance runner born in 1992. She has represented her country in international competitions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.
In the world of literature, Timiya Pathak is an Indian author and poet who has published several collections of poetry and short stories. Her works often explore themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
While the name Timiya may not have a rich historical tapestry like some more ancient names, it carries a unique blend of cultural influences and modern sensibilities. Its connection to the concept of strength and resilience makes it a compelling choice for parents seeking a name with a sense of empowerment and determination.
People
Timiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Timiya 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
Timiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Timiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 180 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Timiya 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 1,904,191 US residents.
Is Timiya a common name?
We classify Timiya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Timiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Timiya was 2012, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Timiya is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Timiya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 185 people with the name Timiya, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,305 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 Timiya 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 Timiya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Timiya leans strongly female. 178 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 6 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Timiya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Timiya is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Timiya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Timiya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (163 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 Timiya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Timiya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Timiya 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 Timiya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Timiya 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 Timiya 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 Americans are named Timiya?
See how many people share the name Timiya on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.