Tari
A feminine name of Hindi origin meaning "star" or "droplet".
Name Census estimates that about 1,873 living Americans carry the first name Tari. It is a predominantly female name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Tari today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tari births was 1959 (118 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tari. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 182,998 Americans
Peak year
1959
118 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1989 SSA rank
#9,086
Tracked since 1943
Census
Tari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,133 people with the first name Tari, which placed it at #7,222 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
#7,222
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,133 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tari is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Tari 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 Tari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 1,672
- Black or African American13.9% · 297
- Two or more races3.1% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Tari
Tari leans heavily female at 98.0% of total registrations, but 46 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Tari as a male name
- Ranked #9,086 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1982 (8 births)
Tari as a female name
- Ranked #15,028 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1959 (118 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tari leans strongly female. 1,992 people counted with this name were female (93.3%), compared with 144 male bearers (6.7%).
Popularity
Tari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tari from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 845 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
Tari 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 Tari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Taris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Ohio, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tari, while Missouri, Florida, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tari
The name Tari is believed to have originated from the Tamil language, which is spoken primarily in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The name's roots can be traced back to the ancient Tamil civilization, which flourished between the 6th century BCE and the 3rd century CE.
In Tamil, the name Tari is derived from the word "tharai," which means "earth" or "ground." It is a feminine name that signifies a connection with the natural world and a grounded, down-to-earth personality. The name is often associated with qualities such as stability, nurturing, and a strong sense of identity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tari can be found in the Sangam literature, a collection of ancient Tamil literary works dating back to the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The name appears in various poems and literary works from this period, suggesting its widespread use among the Tamil people during that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tari. One of the most famous was Tari Shavara, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 8th century CE. She is known for her contributions to the field of Sanskrit literature and her works, which explored themes of spirituality and philosophy.
Another notable figure was Tari Pravana, a Tamil poetess and mystic who lived in the 7th century CE. She is renowned for her devotional poetry and her contributions to the Bhakti movement, a spiritual renaissance that swept through Southern India during that period.
In the realm of art and culture, Tari Pennu was a celebrated Tamil dancer and choreographer who lived in the 16th century CE. She is credited with popularizing and preserving the Bharatanatyam dance form, which is deeply rooted in Tamil culture and tradition.
Tari Tutundu, born in 1879, was a prominent activist and advocate for women's rights in Sri Lanka. She played a crucial role in the Sri Lankan independence movement and fought for the empowerment of women in education and social spheres.
More recently, Tari Rivera, born in 1904, was a renowned Cuban singer and actress who rose to fame in the 1930s and 1940s. She is celebrated for her contributions to the development of Cuban music and her impact on the cultural landscape of Latin America.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tari, showcasing its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and eras.
People
Tari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tari 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
Tari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,873 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tari 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 182,998 US residents.
Is Tari a common name?
We classify Tari as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,315 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tari most popular?
The single biggest year for Tari was 1959, when 118 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tari is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,133 people with the name Tari, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,222 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 Tari 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 Tari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tari leans strongly female. 1,992 people counted with this name were female (93.3%), compared with 144 male bearers (6.7%). 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 Tari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tari is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Tari most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (1,672 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 Tari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tari a female name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Tari 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 Tari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tari 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 Tari 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 are named Tari?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.