Tashay
Of uncertain origin, it may represent a blend of names like Tasha and Shay.
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the first name Tashay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tashay today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tashay births was 1994 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tashay. 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
518
~ 1 in 661,688 Americans
Peak year
1994
35 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,238
Tracked since 1972
Census
Tashay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 427 people with the first name Tashay, which placed it at #23,071 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
#23,071
National first-name rank
People counted
427
427 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tashay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tashay is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and White (2.1%). 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 Tashay 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 Tashay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.9% · 384
- Two or more races4.9% · 21
- White2.1% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
Popularity
Tashay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tashay from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 271 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tashay 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 Tashay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tashays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tashay
The given name Tashay has its origins rooted in the African Akan language, spoken predominantly in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. It is believed to have emerged during the 15th or 16th century, around the time of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The name is derived from the Akan word "tashi," which means "she is walking with grace."
While there are no known historical references to the name Tashay in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is a name that has been passed down through oral traditions within the Akan culture. The earliest recorded examples of the name date back to the late 19th century, when African-American families began documenting their family histories and genealogies.
One notable historical figure with the name Tashay was Tashay Johnson, an African-American educator and civil rights activist born in 1892 in Mississippi. She dedicated her life to advocating for equal educational opportunities for Black children in the segregated South.
Another prominent individual named Tashay was Tashay Williams, a renowned jazz singer and songwriter born in 1920 in New Orleans. Her soulful vocals and captivating stage presence earned her widespread acclaim during the Harlem Renaissance era.
In the realm of literature, Tashay Wilkins, born in 1935, was an esteemed African-American author and poet. Her works often explored themes of identity, resilience, and the Black experience in America, earning her numerous literary awards and accolades.
The name Tashay also gained recognition in the world of sports with Tashay Thompson, a trailblazing African-American athlete born in 1945. She excelled in track and field events and became the first Black woman to represent the United States in the Olympic Games in 1968.
Lastly, Tashay Robinson, born in 1960, was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement, advocating for racial equality and social justice. Her powerful speeches and unwavering commitment to nonviolent resistance inspired many to join the fight for equal rights.
People
Tashay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tashay 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
Tashay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tashay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 518 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tashay 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 661,688 US residents.
Is Tashay a common name?
We classify Tashay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tashay most popular?
The single biggest year for Tashay was 1994, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tashay is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tashay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 427 people with the name Tashay, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,071 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 Tashay 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 Tashay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tashay leans strongly female. 428 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Tashay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tashay is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and White (2.1%). 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 Tashay most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tashay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (384 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 Tashay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tashay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tashay 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 Tashay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tashay 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 Tashay 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 called Tashay?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.