Tanin
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "dragon" or "serpent".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Tanin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tanin today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanin births was 2000 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanin. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tanin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2000
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#11,929
Tracked since 2000
Census
Tanin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Tanin, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanin is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.0%) and Hispanic (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 Tanin 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 Tanin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.0% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 12
- Two or more races10.8% · 12
- Black or African American4.5% · 5
Popularity
Tanin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tanin 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 Tanin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanin
The name Tanin is of Hebrew origin, derived from the word "tannin," which means "dragon" or "serpent" in the ancient Semitic language. This name first appeared in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Isaiah, where it is used to describe mythical sea monsters or dragons.
In ancient Hebrew culture, dragons and serpents were often associated with chaos, evil, and the forces of darkness. The name Tanin may have been used to symbolize strength, power, and the ability to overcome adversity, much like a mythical dragon slayer.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tanin was Tanin ben Shlomo, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 11th century CE in the city of Troyes, France. He was a renowned Talmudic scholar and contributed significantly to the study of Jewish law and tradition.
In the 13th century, there was a famous Jewish philosopher and theologian named Tanin ben Joseph, who lived in Spain and wrote extensively on the reconciliation of Jewish theology with Greek philosophy.
During the Renaissance period, Tanin Levi was a prominent Italian Jewish scholar and poet who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his works in Hebrew literature and his contributions to the study of the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition.
In the 19th century, Tanin Bey was a Turkish diplomat and statesman who played a significant role in the modernization efforts of the Ottoman Empire. He served as the ambassador to several European countries and was instrumental in negotiating important treaties and agreements.
In more recent history, Tanin Idrizović was a renowned Bosnian writer and poet who lived in the 20th century. He was a prominent figure in the Bosnian literary scene and is celebrated for his works that explored themes of identity, culture, and the human condition.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tanin, a name that has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture and mythology, symbolizing strength, power, and the ability to overcome challenges, much like the mythical dragons it was originally associated with.
People
Tanin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanin 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
Tanin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanin 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Tanin a common name?
We classify Tanin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanin most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanin was 2000, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanin is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tanin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Tanin, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Tanin 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 Tanin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tanin on both sides of the split. Of the 119 people counted with this name, 74 were male (62.2%) and 45 were female (37.8%). 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 Tanin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanin is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.0%) and Hispanic (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 Tanin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tanin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (62 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 Tanin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tanin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanin in the SSA data are male. 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 Tanin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tanin 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 Tanin 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 the name Tanin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.