Towana
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "companion" or "friend".
Name Census estimates that about 672 living Americans carry the first name Towana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Towana today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Towana births was 1971 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Towana. 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
672
~ 1 in 510,051 Americans
Peak year
1971
48 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1992 SSA rank
#15,455
Tracked since 1940
Census
Towana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 615 people with the first name Towana, which placed it at #17,751 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
#17,751
National first-name rank
People counted
615
615 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Towana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Towana is Black at 78.7%. The next largest groups are White (15.0%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Towana 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 Towana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.7% · 484
- White15.0% · 92
- Two or more races3.4% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Towana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Towana from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 307 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Towana 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 Towana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Towanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Towana, while Pennsylvania, North Carolina, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Towana
The name Towana originates from the Navajo language, spoken by the Navajo people, an indigenous nation in the Southwestern United States. It is believed to have derived from the Navajo word "tó," meaning water, and "waan," meaning warm or hot, suggesting a connection to natural thermal springs or warm water sources.
Towana has been a traditional Navajo name for centuries, with its earliest known usage traced back to the late 17th century. It was predominantly given to Navajo children born near or around significant water sources, such as rivers, lakes, or hot springs, which held great cultural and spiritual significance for the Navajo people.
In Navajo culture, names often reflected the environment, events, or characteristics surrounding a child's birth. Towana was likely bestowed upon children born near warm water sources or during times when water played a significant role in the community's life.
Historical records mention a prominent Navajo leader named Towana, who lived in the late 18th century and played a crucial role in negotiating peace treaties between the Navajo and Spanish settlers in the region. His influence and diplomacy helped maintain stability during a period of conflict.
Another notable figure was Towana Benton, a Navajo artist and potter who lived from 1925 to 2005. She was renowned for her intricate and traditional pottery designs, which were widely celebrated and exhibited in museums across the United States.
In the realm of literature, Towana Spivey is a celebrated Navajo author and storyteller born in 1944. Her works, including "Tsiyi: Deep in the Rock," preserve and share the rich oral traditions and legends of the Navajo people, contributing to the preservation of their cultural heritage.
Towana Bluehouse, born in 1962, is a renowned Navajo weaver and artist. Her intricate and vibrant weavings, inspired by traditional Navajo designs and techniques, have been showcased in numerous exhibitions and collections worldwide.
Lastly, Towana Gonzales, a Navajo educator and advocate, has dedicated her life to promoting education and empowerment within Native American communities. She has served as a teacher, administrator, and leader, working tirelessly to create opportunities for future generations.
People
Towana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Towana 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
Towana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Towana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 672 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Towana 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 510,051 US residents.
Is Towana a common name?
We classify Towana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 801 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Towana most popular?
The single biggest year for Towana was 1971, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Towana is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Towana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 615 people with the name Towana, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,751 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 Towana 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 Towana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Towana leans strongly female. 612 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 8 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Towana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Towana is Black at 78.7%. The next largest groups are White (15.0%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Towana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Towana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.7% (484 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 Towana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Towana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Towana 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 Towana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Towana 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 Towana 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 named Towana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.