Tanmay
Rooted in Sanskrit, it means "infinite and unconquerable spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Tanmay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tanmay today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanmay births was 2008 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanmay. 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 Tanmay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2008
18 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,961
Tracked since 2001
Census
Tanmay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 671 people with the first name Tanmay, which placed it at #16,695 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
#16,695
National first-name rank
People counted
671
671 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanmay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanmay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Tanmay 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 Tanmay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.9% · 637
- White3.9% · 26
- Two or more races0.6% · 4
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Tanmay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tanmay from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 99 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tanmay 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 Tanmay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tanmays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanmay
The name Tanmay finds its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the primary language of ancient India and a key influence on various other Indian languages. The name is derived from the combination of two Sanskrit words: "tan" meaning "body" and "maya" meaning "illusion" or "deception." Together, the name Tanmay can be interpreted as "the one who dispels bodily illusions" or "the one who transcends physical limitations."
In the Hindu tradition, the concept of "maya" refers to the illusory nature of the material world, which is considered a veil that obscures the true, spiritual reality. The name Tanmay, therefore, carries a spiritual connotation, suggesting a person who is capable of seeing beyond the superficial and embracing the deeper, more profound aspects of existence.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Tanmay can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts and scriptures. It is mentioned in various Hindu philosophical and spiritual works, such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, as a metaphor for the journey of self-realization and transcendence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tanmay. One of the earliest recorded figures was Tanmay Bhatta, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and philosopher who lived in the 7th century CE. He was renowned for his contributions to the field of Nyaya philosophy, which focused on logic, epistemology, and metaphysics.
Another prominent figure was Tanmay Chakraborty, an Indian freedom fighter and activist who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century. He was born in 1888 and dedicated his life to the cause of liberating India from British colonial rule.
In the realm of literature, Tanmay Bandyopadhyay was a celebrated Bengali author and poet who lived from 1925 to 1965. His works, which explored themes of human existence, love, and social commentary, left a lasting impact on the Bengali literary tradition.
Tanmay Bhat, born in 1987, is a contemporary Indian comedian, writer, and YouTuber who co-founded the popular comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB). His comedic sketches and social commentary have garnered a significant following, particularly among younger generations.
Lastly, Tanmay Srivastava, born in 1988, is an Indian cricketer who has represented India in various formats of the game, including Test matches, One Day Internationals, and Twenty20 Internationals. He is renowned for his batting prowess and has achieved numerous milestones in his cricketing career.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Tanmay throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience.
People
Tanmay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanmay 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
Tanmay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanmay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanmay 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Tanmay a common name?
We classify Tanmay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanmay most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanmay was 2008, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanmay is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tanmay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 671 people with the name Tanmay, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,695 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 Tanmay 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 Tanmay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tanmay appears almost entirely male. Of the 669 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Tanmay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tanmay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Tanmay most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tanmay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (637 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 Tanmay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tanmay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanmay 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 Tanmay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tanmay 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 Tanmay 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 common is the name Tanmay?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.