Teel
Variant spelling of the Spanish unisex name Thiel, meaning "bold counselor".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Teel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Teel today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teel births was 1968 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teel. 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 Teel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
1968
6 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1974 SSA rank
#8,650
Tracked since 1968
Census
Teel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 118 people with the first name Teel, which placed it at #50,661 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
#50,661
National first-name rank
People counted
118
118 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teel is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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 Teel 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 Teel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.5% · 82
- Black or African American18.6% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 7
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Popularity
Teel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teel from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teel 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 Teel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Teels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Teel
The name Teel has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "teel," which means "clay" or "mud." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with those who worked with clay, such as potters or brick makers.
In the early Islamic period, the name Teel appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, particularly in regions where Arabic was the predominant language. However, there is little evidence of the name being used as a personal name during this time.
The earliest recorded use of Teel as a given name can be traced back to the 12th century CE in parts of the Middle East and North Africa. One notable figure was Teel al-Baghdadi, a renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher who lived in Baghdad during the late 12th century.
During the medieval period, the name Teel gained popularity among certain Arab communities, particularly in regions like Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. It was often given to individuals with connections to the pottery or ceramic-making industries.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Teel ibn Khalid al-Ansari emerged as a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist in the Ottoman Empire. He was known for his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and his influential writings on various legal matters.
As trade and cultural exchange increased between the Middle East and other parts of the world, the name Teel began to spread beyond its traditional geographical boundaries. In the 18th century, a Persian poet and mystic known as Teel Mirza gained fame for his poetic works and spiritual teachings.
Another notable individual with the name Teel was Teel al-Masri, an Egyptian artist and calligrapher who lived in the 19th century. His intricate calligraphic works and paintings were highly regarded and are still celebrated in the art world today.
While the name Teel has maintained a presence in various Arab and Islamic communities throughout history, its usage has remained relatively limited compared to other more common Arabic names. Nevertheless, it continues to carry cultural and historical significance, reflecting its connection to the rich traditions of pottery, ceramics, and artistic expression.
People
Teel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teel 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
Teel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teel 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Teel a common name?
We classify Teel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teel most popular?
The single biggest year for Teel was 1968, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teel is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 118 people with the name Teel, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,661 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 Teel 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 Teel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Teel on both sides of the split. Of the 127 people counted with this name, 53 were male (41.7%) and 74 were female (58.3%). 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 Teel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teel is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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 Teel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Teel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (82 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 Teel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teel 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 Teel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teel 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 Teel 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 Teel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.