Teina
A Maori name meaning "younger sibling" or "younger child".
Name Census estimates that about 22 living Americans carry the first name Teina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Teina today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teina births was 1958 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teina. 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
- • The typical person named Teina is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Teinas were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Teina. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
22
~ 1 in 15,579,743 Americans
Peak year
1958
9 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1962 SSA rank
#6,499
Tracked since 1951
Census
Teina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Teina, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teina is White at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (9.0%). 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 Teina 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 Teina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.0% · 87
- Black or African American14.5% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 11
- Two or more races6.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 3
Popularity
Teina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teina from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 24 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teina 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 Teina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Teina
The name Teina originates from the Tahitian language, spoken in Tahiti and other islands of French Polynesia. It has its roots in the ancient Polynesian culture, dating back several centuries. The name is derived from the Tahitian word "tei'na," which means "younger sibling" or "little brother."
In Tahitian culture, family and kinship ties have always been of great importance. The name Teina reflects this reverence for familial bonds and the special relationship between siblings. It was a common practice to name children after their birth order or position in the family hierarchy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Teina can be found in the oral traditions and legends of Tahitian folklore. These stories, passed down through generations, often featured characters with names like Teina, reflecting the cultural significance of the name.
Throughout history, the name Teina has been carried by several notable individuals. One of the earliest known figures was Teina Tauraa, a renowned Tahitian navigator and explorer from the 16th century. He was renowned for his exceptional skills in navigating the vast Pacific Ocean using traditional Polynesian methods.
Another notable bearer of the name was Teina Teraupiti, a Tahitian chieftain from the 18th century. He played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of his time and was known for his leadership and diplomacy.
In the 19th century, Teina Temaru was a prominent Tahitian writer and scholar. He dedicated his life to preserving and documenting the rich cultural heritage of Tahiti, including its language, traditions, and oral histories.
Moving into the 20th century, Teina Reva was a celebrated Tahitian artist and sculptor. His works, which often depicted scenes from Polynesian mythology and daily life, gained international recognition and are now exhibited in museums around the world.
More recently, Teina Iti was a Tahitian musician and composer who lived from 1933 to 2010. He was instrumental in reviving and popularizing traditional Tahitian music, blending it with modern influences to create a unique and captivating sound.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Teina throughout history, reflecting its deep cultural roots and significance in Tahitian society.
People
Teina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teina 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
Teina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teina 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 15,579,743 US residents.
Is Teina a common name?
We classify Teina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 41.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teina most popular?
The single biggest year for Teina was 1958, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teina is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Teina, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Teina 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 Teina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Teina leans strongly female. 136 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Teina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teina is White at 60.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.5%) and Hispanic (9.0%). 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 Teina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Teina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.0% (87 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 Teina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teina 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 Teina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teina 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 Teina 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 Americans are named Teina?
See how many Americans are named Teina on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.