Tanzania
A modern feminine name of Bantu origin meaning "journey" or "to venture forth."
Name Census estimates that about 633 living Americans carry the first name Tanzania. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tanzania today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tanzania births was 1992 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tanzania. 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
633
~ 1 in 541,476 Americans
Peak year
1992
38 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,170
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Tanzania: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tanzania from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 282 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tanzania remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tanzania 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 Tanzania during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tanzanias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tanzania, while Georgia, Florida, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tanzania
The given name Tanzania is a relatively modern name, originating from the region of East Africa. It is derived from the name of the sovereign state of Tanzania, which itself is a combination of the names of the two regions that united to form the country in 1964: Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Tanganyika was the name given to the territory by German East Africa, and it is believed to be derived from the Swahili phrase "sail in the wilderness," referring to the vast inland sea of Lake Tanganyika. Zanzibar, on the other hand, is derived from the Persian words "zangi" meaning black and "bar" meaning coast, referring to the island's location off the coast of East Africa.
The earliest recorded use of the name Tanzania as a given name is believed to be in the late 1960s or early 1970s, shortly after the formation of the nation. It was likely adopted by parents in East Africa as a way to celebrate their national identity and the unification of the two regions.
While there are no definitive historical records of the name Tanzania being used prior to the formation of the modern nation, some scholars have suggested that it may have been used as a descriptive term for the region in ancient times, referring to the combination of the coastal and inland areas.
In terms of notable individuals with the name Tanzania, here are a few examples:
1. Tanzania Yvonne Munga (born 1985) is a Kenyan actress and model.
2. Tanzania Mara (born 1978) is an American adult film actress and director.
3. Tanzania Zambia (born 1992) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a defender.
4. Tanzania Banana (born 1987) is an American professional wrestler, best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
5. Tanzania Jester (born 1973) is an American comedian and actor, known for his work in the sketch comedy group The Whitest Kids U' Know.
It is important to note that while the name Tanzania has gained some popularity in recent decades, it is still relatively uncommon and primarily used in East Africa and among individuals with ties to the region or its culture.
People
Tanzania + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tanzania 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
Tanzania: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tanzania?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tanzania 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 541,476 US residents.
Is Tanzania a common name?
We classify Tanzania as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tanzania most popular?
The single biggest year for Tanzania was 1992, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tanzania is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tanzania a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tanzania 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.