Tejal
A feminine name of Indian origin meaning "shining" or "brilliant".
Name Census estimates that about 284 living Americans carry the first name Tejal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tejal today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tejal births was 1983 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tejal. 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 Tejal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
284
~ 1 in 1,206,881 Americans
Peak year
1983
20 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2012 SSA rank
#14,847
Tracked since 1972
Census
Tejal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,105 people with the first name Tejal, which placed it at #11,554 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
#11,554
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tejal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tejal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and White (1.4%). 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 Tejal 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 Tejal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.9% · 1,049
- Two or more races2.1% · 23
- White1.4% · 16
- Black or African American1.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Tejal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tejal from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tejal 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 Tejal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tejals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tejal
The name Tejal has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was prevalent in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "tejas," which means "radiant" or "brilliant." This name has been in use for centuries, primarily within the Hindu community.
In Hindu mythology, the concept of "tejas" is associated with spiritual energy, divine brilliance, and the radiant aura that surrounds enlightened beings. The name Tejal is often chosen for babies with the hope that they will grow up to possess these qualities of radiance, intellect, and spiritual wisdom.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tejal can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was mentioned in the Hindu text, Skanda Purana. This ancient scripture narrates the tales of Lord Skanda, also known as Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war and victory.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tejal. One of the most famous was Tejal Shah (1879-1966), an Indian politician and social reformer who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and served as the president of the Indian National Congress in 1938.
Another prominent figure was Tejal Kanitkar (1901-1987), a renowned Marathi writer and poet from Maharashtra, India. Her literary works explored themes of social injustice, women's rights, and the struggle for independence. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1976.
In the field of arts and culture, Tejal Shah (born 1979) is a contemporary Indian dancer and choreographer known for her innovative approach to Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form. She has performed at various prestigious venues worldwide and has been recognized with several awards for her contributions to the art form.
Another notable figure is Tejal Amin (born 1972), an Indian-American businesswoman and entrepreneur. She co-founded the popular e-commerce platform, Basket, which was later acquired by Amazon. Amin has been recognized for her entrepreneurial achievements and has been featured in various business publications.
The name Tejal has also been associated with academics and scholars, such as Tejal Desai (born 1970), a renowned biomedical engineer and professor at Stanford University. Her research focuses on developing innovative drug delivery systems and has earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize.
People
Tejal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tejal 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
Tejal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tejal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 284 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tejal 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 1,206,881 US residents.
Is Tejal a common name?
We classify Tejal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 299 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tejal most popular?
The single biggest year for Tejal was 1983, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tejal is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tejal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,105 people with the name Tejal, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,554 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 Tejal 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 Tejal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tejal leans strongly female. 1,064 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 36 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Tejal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tejal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and White (1.4%). 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 Tejal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tejal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (1,049 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 Tejal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tejal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tejal 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 Tejal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tejal 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 Tejal 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 are named Tejal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.