Tane
A Māori name meaning "man" or "male".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Tane. It is a predominantly female name (90.3% of registrations). The average person named Tane today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tane births was 1963 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tane. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tane with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
1963
26 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,977
Tracked since 1955
Census
Tane in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 379 people with the first name Tane, which placed it at #25,119 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
#25,119
National first-name rank
People counted
379
379 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tane
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tane is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.5%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Tane 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 Tane at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.3% · 217
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.5% · 51
- Black or African American10.8% · 41
- Two or more races10.6% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Tane
Tane leans heavily female at 90.3% of total registrations, but 17 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tane as a male name
- Ranked #13,977 in 2012
- 5 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1999 (6 births)
Tane as a female name
- Ranked #18,537 in 2004
- 5 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1963 (26 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tane on both sides of the split. Of the 388 people counted with this name, 145 were male (37.4%) and 243 were female (62.6%).
Popularity
Tane: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tane from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tane 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 Tane 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 Tane
The name Tane is believed to have its origins in ancient Polynesian mythology, particularly in the traditions of the Maori people of New Zealand. It is derived from the Maori word "tāne," which means "man" or "male."
In Maori mythology, Tane is the name of the god of forests and birds. He is one of the children of the primordial parents, Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatuanuku (the earth mother). According to legend, Tane separated his parents, allowing light and life to flourish in the world.
The name Tane has been in use among the Maori people for centuries, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It was commonly given to male children as a way of honoring the god Tane and invoking his protection and strength.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tane was Tane Mahuta, a legendary figure in Maori tradition. He was said to be the personification of the god Tane and was revered as the father of the forests and all living things within them.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Tane, including:
1. Tane Tuwhangai (c. 1810-1894), a Maori chief and leader from the Ngati Whatua iwi (tribe) in northern New Zealand.
2. Tane Tinorau (c. 1770-1845), a Maori chief and warrior from the Nga Puhi iwi, known for his role in the Musket Wars of the early 19th century.
3. Tane Ngakura (1901-1993), a Maori leader and expert in traditional Maori knowledge and practices.
4. Tane Tuwhare (1923-2008), a renowned Maori poet and writer, widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most significant literary figures.
5. Tane Norton (born 1973), a New Zealand actor and director, best known for his roles in films like "Once Were Warriors" and "Whale Rider."
While the name Tane has its roots in Maori culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Polynesian populations. However, its historical and cultural significance remains deeply tied to the Maori people and their rich traditions.
People
Tane + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tane 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
Tane: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tane?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tane 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 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Tane a common name?
We classify Tane as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tane most popular?
The single biggest year for Tane was 1963, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tane is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tane in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 379 people with the name Tane, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,119 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 Tane 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 Tane?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tane on both sides of the split. Of the 388 people counted with this name, 145 were male (37.4%) and 243 were female (62.6%). 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 Tane?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tane is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.5%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Tane most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.3% (217 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 Tane in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tane a female name?
Yes, 90.3% of people registered as Tane 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 Tane still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tane 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 Tane 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 have Tane as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.