Tasneem
An Arabic feminine name meaning "gentle breeze" or "morning dew."
Name Census estimates that about 1,583 living Americans carry the first name Tasneem. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tasneem today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tasneem births was 2018 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tasneem. 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
- • Tasneem is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 216,522 Americans
Peak year
2018
80 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,424
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Tasneem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tasneem from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 576 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Tasneem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tasneem 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 Tasneem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tasneems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. New York, California, Michigan recorded the most babies named Tasneem, while Washington, Pennsylvania, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tasneem
The name Tasneem has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "nasama," which means "to blow gently" or "to breathe softly." It is believed to have first emerged in the Middle East during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century AD.
Tasneem is mentioned in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, where it refers to a specific spring or river in Paradise. This connection to the Quran and Islamic tradition has contributed to the name's popularity among Muslim communities throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Tasneem can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and writers from the 8th and 9th centuries AD, such as Abu Nuwas and Al-Mutanabbi. These literary works often depicted the name in a symbolic or metaphorical context, associating it with concepts of purity, serenity, and spiritual renewal.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Tasneem is Tasneem Fatima, a 13th-century Persian princess and poet from the Seljuk Empire. Her poetic works, which reflected the cultural and intellectual traditions of her time, have been preserved and studied by scholars over the centuries.
Another prominent individual with this name was Tasneem Akhtar, a 19th-century Indian educator and social reformer. She played a significant role in promoting women's education and advocating for gender equality in British India, leaving a lasting impact on the region's social landscape.
In the realm of literature, Tasneem Zehra Husain was a renowned Pakistani novelist and short story writer of the 20th century. Her works, which explored themes of identity, family, and societal issues, earned her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards during her lifetime.
Tasneem Essop, a South African activist and scholar born in the 1970s, has been a prominent voice in the fight against gender-based violence and for women's rights. Her academic research and advocacy efforts have contributed to raising awareness and driving policy changes in her country and beyond.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Tasneem, each leaving their unique mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and intellectual traditions across different regions and time periods.
People
Tasneem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tasneem 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
Tasneem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tasneem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,583 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tasneem 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 216,522 US residents.
Is Tasneem a common name?
We classify Tasneem as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,607 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tasneem most popular?
The single biggest year for Tasneem was 2018, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tasneem is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tasneem a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tasneem 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.