Tawnee
Having a tawny or light tan color, like that of a deerskin.
Name Census estimates that about 730 living Americans carry the first name Tawnee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tawnee today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tawnee births was 1990 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tawnee. 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
730
~ 1 in 469,526 Americans
Peak year
1990
51 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,870
Tracked since 1960
Popularity
Tawnee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tawnee from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 269 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
Tawnee 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 Tawnee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tawnees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Washington, Ohio recorded the most babies named Tawnee, while Texas, Ohio, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tawnee
The name Tawnee is believed to have its origins in the Native American languages, specifically from the Munsee language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. The name is derived from the word "tawanee," which means "little one" or "young one."
In its earliest recorded use, the name was often spelled as "Tawana" or "Tawanee." It was a common name among the Munsee people, who inhabited parts of present-day New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. The name was later adopted by other Native American tribes, particularly those in the northeastern and midwestern regions of what is now the United States.
While there are no specific historical references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in various historical records and accounts related to Native American tribes and their interactions with European settlers and colonists.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tawnee was Tawnee White Calf, a prominent figure among the Cheyenne tribe in the mid-19th century. She was known for her leadership and advocacy for her people during a time of great upheaval and conflict with the encroaching white settlers.
Another notable individual was Tawnee Pah Hote, a Comanche warrior and leader who lived in the early 19th century. He played a significant role in the resistance against the expansion of American settlements into Comanche territory.
In the realm of literature, Tawnee was the name of a character in the novel "The Deerslayer" by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1841. The character was a young Native American woman who played a pivotal role in the story.
Tawnee Sycamour, born in 1897, was a renowned artist and painter from the Choctaw Nation. Her works captured the beauty and essence of Native American culture and traditions.
Tawnee Piper, born in 1951, is an American actress and former model. She is best known for her roles in various television series and films during the 1970s and 1980s.
People
Tawnee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tawnee 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
Tawnee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tawnee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 730 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tawnee 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 469,526 US residents.
Is Tawnee a common name?
We classify Tawnee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 778 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tawnee most popular?
The single biggest year for Tawnee was 1990, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tawnee is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tawnee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tawnee 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.