Tuwanda
A feminine name with an uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Tuwanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tuwanda today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tuwanda births was 1972 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tuwanda. 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
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1972
14 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1981 SSA rank
#9,061
Tracked since 1958
Census
Tuwanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 163 people with the first name Tuwanda, which placed it at #43,340 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
#43,340
National first-name rank
People counted
163
163 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tuwanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tuwanda is Black at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and White (1.2%). 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 Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.1% · 155
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 4
- White1.2% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Popularity
Tuwanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tuwanda from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 85 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
Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda
The name Tuwanda has its origins in the Bantu languages spoken across central and southern Africa. It is derived from the root word "twaa", which means "to bring" or "to carry". The name likely emerged during the early centuries of the first millennium AD, as Bantu-speaking communities spread across the continent.
Tuwanda was initially a name given to children who were born during times of migration or travel, symbolizing the idea of "bringing" or "carrying" something new into the world. The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to oral histories and traditional songs passed down among the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Tuwanda was a renowned healer and herbalist who lived in the 15th century among the Lozi people of modern-day Zambia and western Zimbabwe. Her knowledge of medicinal plants and traditional remedies was widely respected, and she is said to have "brought" healing to many communities.
In the 18th century, a Tuwanda emerged as a prominent leader among the Nguni people of southern Africa. This Tuwanda was a skilled negotiator and diplomat, playing a crucial role in maintaining peace between various chiefdoms and "bringing" stability to the region.
During the 19th century, a Tuwanda from the Kongo Kingdom in modern-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo gained fame as a skilled sculptor and woodcarver. Her intricate carvings depicting scenes from daily life and traditional folklore were highly sought after and "brought" recognition to the artistic traditions of her people.
Another notable figure was Tuwanda, a brave warrior who fought against colonial forces in the late 19th century during the Maji Maji Rebellion in what is now Tanzania. She "brought" inspiration and courage to her fellow fighters, and her legacy continues to be celebrated as a symbol of resistance and pride.
In more recent times, a Tuwanda from South Africa made significant contributions to the field of education, establishing schools and literacy programs that "brought" knowledge and opportunities to underprivileged communities in the latter half of the 20th century.
People
Tuwanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tuwanda 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
Tuwanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tuwanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tuwanda 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Tuwanda a common name?
We classify Tuwanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tuwanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Tuwanda was 1972, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tuwanda is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tuwanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 163 people with the name Tuwanda, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,340 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 Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tuwanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 161 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 Tuwanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tuwanda is Black at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and White (1.2%). 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 Tuwanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tuwanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (155 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 Tuwanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tuwanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda 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 Tuwanda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.