Tariah
An English feminine name meaning "a tear".
Name Census estimates that about 744 living Americans carry the first name Tariah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tariah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tariah births was 2016 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tariah. 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
744
~ 1 in 460,691 Americans
Peak year
2016
42 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,114
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Tariah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tariah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 334 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Tariah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tariah 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 Tariah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tariahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Florida, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Tariah, while Ohio, California, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tariah
The name Tariah is believed to have originated in the Middle East, likely in the region of ancient Persia or Mesopotamia. It is thought to be derived from the Persian or Arabic root words "tara," meaning "star," and "iah," which is a common suffix in Arabic and Hebrew names. Thus, the name Tariah could be interpreted as "star-like" or "heavenly."
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. In this epic, Tariah was the name of a brave warrior and commander in the army of the legendary Persian king, Khosrow II.
During the medieval period, the name Tariah appeared in various historical accounts and chronicles across the Middle East and North Africa. In the 12th century, a notable figure named Tariah al-Andalusi was a celebrated Islamic scholar and philosopher from Andalusia (modern-day Spain).
In the 16th century, a prominent Ottoman statesman and military leader named Tariah Pasha served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He was widely respected for his strategic military campaigns and his role in expanding the Ottoman Empire's territories.
Another historical figure bearing this name was Tariah Bey, an 18th-century Egyptian ruler and governor of Cairo. He is remembered for his efforts in modernizing and developing the city during his reign.
In more recent times, Tariah Tors was a renowned Norwegian explorer and adventurer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was one of the first women to lead expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and her writings and accounts of her travels were widely celebrated.
While the name Tariah has its roots in ancient civilizations and cultures, it has maintained a unique and intriguing quality throughout history, lending an air of mystery and intrigue to those who bear it.
People
Tariah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tariah 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
Tariah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tariah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 744 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tariah 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 460,691 US residents.
Is Tariah a common name?
We classify Tariah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 753 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tariah most popular?
The single biggest year for Tariah was 2016, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tariah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tariah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tariah 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.