Tellis
A masculine name derived from the French surname Tellier meaning "linen-weaver".
Name Census estimates that about 230 living Americans carry the first name Tellis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tellis today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tellis births was 1975 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tellis. 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
230
~ 1 in 1,490,236 Americans
Peak year
1975
25 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,867
Tracked since 1919
Census
Tellis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Tellis, which placed it at #32,783 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
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tellis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tellis is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Tellis 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 Tellis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.0% · 209
- White11.0% · 28
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Tellis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tellis from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 119 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tellis 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 Tellis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tellis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tellis
The name Tellis is believed to have originated from the Greek language, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "tellos," which means "boundary" or "end." This name may have been given to individuals born near a boundary or border region, or perhaps to signify the end of a journey or significant life event.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tellis can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who lived from 427 BC to 347 BC. In his work "The Republic," he mentions a character named Tellis, though little is known about the individual's historical significance.
In the Middle Ages, the name Tellis appeared in various religious texts and historical records, though its usage was relatively rare. One notable bearer of the name was Tellis of Siena, an Italian monk and scholar who lived in the 12th century. He is known for his contributions to the study of theology and his extensive writings on the monastic lifestyle.
During the Renaissance period, the name Tellis gained some popularity among the aristocracy and nobility. Tellis Borghese, an Italian nobleman born in 1548, was a prominent figure in the court of Pope Paul V. He was known for his patronage of the arts and his extensive collection of sculptures and paintings.
In the 19th century, Tellis Agee, born in 1835, was an American businessman and entrepreneur. He played a significant role in the development of the steel industry in the United States and was instrumental in establishing several successful manufacturing companies.
Another notable individual with the name Tellis was Tellis Frank, a British artist and painter born in 1867. He was known for his landscape paintings and his depictions of rural life in England. His works were widely exhibited and celebrated during his lifetime.
It is important to note that while the name Tellis has been present throughout history, it has never been among the most common or widely used names. Its origins and meaning, however, have remained consistent, reflecting the significance of boundaries, endings, and transitions in life.
People
Tellis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tellis 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
Tellis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tellis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 230 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tellis 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 1,490,236 US residents.
Is Tellis a common name?
We classify Tellis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 295 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tellis most popular?
The single biggest year for Tellis was 1975, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tellis is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tellis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Tellis, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 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 Tellis 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 Tellis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tellis leans strongly male. 252 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 7 female bearers (2.7%). 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 Tellis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tellis is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Tellis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tellis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (209 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 Tellis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tellis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tellis in the SSA data are male. 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 Tellis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tellis 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 Tellis 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 Tellis?
Find out how many people share the name Tellis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.