Tarris
An invented name evoking a tarry, dark, or intense character.
Name Census estimates that about 87 living Americans carry the first name Tarris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tarris today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tarris births was 1973 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tarris. 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 Tarris. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
87
~ 1 in 3,939,705 Americans
Peak year
1973
11 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,121
Tracked since 1969
Census
Tarris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 184 people with the first name Tarris, which placed it at #40,443 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
#40,443
National first-name rank
People counted
184
184 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tarris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarris is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Tarris 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 Tarris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.9% · 136
- White14.7% · 27
- Two or more races6.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Popularity
Tarris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tarris from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tarris 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 Tarris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tarris' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tarris
The name Tarris has its origins in ancient Etruscan culture, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy from around the 8th century BCE to the 1st century BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Etruscan word "tarris," meaning "guardian" or "protector." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were tasked with safeguarding their communities or families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tarris can be found in an Etruscan inscription dated to the 5th century BCE, which mentions a man named Tarris Velthuri. This inscription was discovered in the ancient Etruscan city of Vetulonia, providing evidence of the name's usage during that time period.
In the realm of ancient literature, the name Tarris appears in the Etruscan version of the Greek myth of the Argonauts, where a character named Tarris is portrayed as a skilled navigator and advisor to the legendary hero Jason.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tarris. One such figure was Tarris of Clusium, a prominent Etruscan military leader who lived in the 6th century BCE and played a significant role in the defense of his city against Roman aggression.
Another individual of note was Tarris Volumnius, an Etruscan scholar and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He is credited with preserving and disseminating Etruscan knowledge and teachings, contributing to the preservation of the culture's rich intellectual heritage.
In the realm of art and culture, Tarris Aruncius, a renowned Etruscan sculptor from the 2nd century BCE, left a lasting legacy through his intricate and skillfully crafted works, many of which can still be admired in museums today.
Moving into the medieval era, Tarris Theodoric was a prominent Ostrogothic nobleman and military commander who lived in the 5th century CE. He played a pivotal role in the conquest of Italy and the establishment of the Ostrogothic Kingdom.
Lastly, Tarris Zosimus was a Byzantine scholar and historian who lived in the 5th century CE. His influential work, "Historia Nova," provides valuable insights into the events and personalities of the late Roman Empire, making it an important historical source.
These are just a few examples of the individuals who have borne the name Tarris throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Tarris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tarris 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
Tarris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tarris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 87 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tarris 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 3,939,705 US residents.
Is Tarris a common name?
We classify Tarris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 92 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tarris most popular?
The single biggest year for Tarris was 1973, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tarris is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tarris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 184 people with the name Tarris, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,443 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 Tarris 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 Tarris?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tarris on both sides of the split. Of the 192 people counted with this name, 145 were male (75.5%) and 47 were female (24.5%). 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 Tarris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tarris is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Tarris most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tarris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (136 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 Tarris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tarris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tarris 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 Tarris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tarris 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 Tarris 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 share the name Tarris?
Want to know how many people share the name Tarris? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.