Tanda
A feminine Swahili name meaning "lively" or "energetic".
Name Census estimates that about 379 living Americans carry the first name Tanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tanda today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanda births was 1962 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanda. 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
379
~ 1 in 904,365 Americans
Peak year
1962
23 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1992 SSA rank
#13,179
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Tanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tanda 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 126 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
Tanda 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 Tanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tandas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanda
The name Tanda is believed to have originated in ancient India, deriving from the Sanskrit word "तन्द्रा" (tandrā), which translates to "sloth" or "laziness." This linguistic root can be traced back to the Vedic period, spanning from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE, when Sanskrit was the predominant language of the Indian subcontinent.
In Hindu mythology, the concept of "तन्द्रा" (tandrā) is personified as a goddess associated with sloth, lethargy, and inactivity. While the name itself does not appear in any major Hindu scriptures or ancient texts, its origin can be attributed to this cultural and linguistic context.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tanda dates back to the 7th century CE, when it was mentioned in a Sanskrit inscription found in the Ellora Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. This inscription refers to a person named Tanda, although historical details about their life and significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tanda. One such figure was Tanda Gowda, a prominent ruler of the Kadamba dynasty in the 12th century CE. Hailing from the region of present-day Karnataka, India, Tanda Gowda is renowned for his patronage of art, architecture, and literature during his reign.
Another notable bearer of the name was Tanda Tula, a 15th-century poet and scholar from the Deccan region of India. Tanda Tula is credited with authoring several literary works, including a celebrated Sanskrit poetic anthology titled "Kavitāmṛtasāgara" (The Ocean of Poetic Nectar).
In the 16th century, Tanda Vijayanagara was a prominent military commander who served under the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the largest Hindu empires in South India. His strategic prowess and leadership in battles against rival kingdoms earned him recognition in historical accounts of the time.
Tanda Shastri, a 17th-century Sanskrit scholar and grammarian from the Pune region of India, was renowned for his contributions to the study and preservation of Sanskrit literature. His commentaries and treatises on various Sanskrit texts continue to be referenced by scholars and students alike.
Another significant figure was Tanda Mukhopadhyay, a 19th-century Bengali intellectual and social reformer who played a pivotal role in the Bengal Renaissance. He advocated for women's education, social reforms, and the eradication of regressive practices in Bengali society.
While the name Tanda has its roots in ancient Indian culture and mythology, its usage has been relatively limited throughout history, primarily confined to the Indian subcontinent. However, the name's unique linguistic origins and association with various notable figures make it a fascinating subject of study in the field of onomatology.
People
Tanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanda 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
Tanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 379 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanda 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 904,365 US residents.
Is Tanda a common name?
We classify Tanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanda was 1962, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanda is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanda 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.
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.