Teja
A masculine Hindu name meaning "radiance" or "brightness".
Name Census estimates that about 630 living Americans carry the first name Teja. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Teja today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teja births was 2002 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teja. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Teja with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
630
~ 1 in 544,055 Americans
Peak year
2002
84 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2009 SSA rank
#14,275
Tracked since 1978
Census
Teja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,027 people with the first name Teja, which placed it at #12,202 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
#12,202
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,027 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
44.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teja is Asian/Pacific Islander at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and White (18.0%). 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 Teja 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 Teja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander44.0% · 452
- Black or African American23.6% · 242
- White18.0% · 185
- Two or more races8.7% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Teja
Teja leans heavily female at 88.7% of total registrations, but 73 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Teja as a male name
- Ranked #14,275 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1999 (13 births)
Teja as a female name
- Ranked #18,620 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2002 (75 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Teja on both sides of the split. Of the 1,029 people counted with this name, 342 were male (33.2%) and 687 were female (66.8%).
Popularity
Teja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teja from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 338 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teja 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 Teja during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tejas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Ohio, Florida recorded the most babies named Teja, while Washington, Texas, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Teja
The name Teja has its roots in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "tejas," which means radiance, brilliance, or splendor. The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, particularly among Hindu communities in the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Teja can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Puranas. These sacred texts, composed between the 3rd and 10th centuries CE, mention several mythological characters bearing the name Teja, often associated with divine attributes or celestial beings.
In the historical context, the name Teja has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries. One of the earliest known figures was Teja Singh, a prominent leader of the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century. Born in 1780, he played a crucial role in the military campaigns of Ranjit Singh, the renowned Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Another significant figure was Teja Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, who lived from 1621 to 1675. He is revered for his teachings on the principles of equality, justice, and religious tolerance, and his martyrdom is commemorated as a symbol of resistance against oppression.
In the realm of arts and literature, Teja Singh Arora (1917-1996) was a renowned Punjabi writer and playwright. His works, including novels, short stories, and plays, explored themes of social justice, human emotions, and the cultural heritage of Punjab.
In the field of sports, Teja Nair (born 1992) is an Indian cricketer who has represented the country in various international tournaments. Known for his all-round abilities, he has been a part of several successful campaigns for the Indian cricket team.
Teja Tsering (born 1963) is a prominent Tibetan activist and former political prisoner. He has been a vocal advocate for the rights of the Tibetan people and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the human rights situation in Tibet.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Teja throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Teja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teja 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
Teja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 630 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teja 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 544,055 US residents.
Is Teja a common name?
We classify Teja as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teja most popular?
The single biggest year for Teja was 2002, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teja is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,027 people with the name Teja, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,202 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 Teja 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 Teja?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Teja on both sides of the split. Of the 1,029 people counted with this name, 342 were male (33.2%) and 687 were female (66.8%). 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 Teja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teja is Asian/Pacific Islander at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Black (23.6%) and White (18.0%). 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 Teja most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Teja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (452 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 Teja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teja a female name?
Yes, 88.7% of people registered as Teja 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 Teja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teja 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 Teja 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 Teja?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.