Tenesia
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially from the Italian name Tenesia.
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Tenesia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tenesia today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tenesia births was 1983 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tenesia. 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
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
1983
17 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1996 SSA rank
#15,684
Tracked since 1972
Census
Tenesia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Tenesia, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenesia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenesia is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tenesia 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 Tenesia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.4% · 146
- White8.2% · 14
- Two or more races2.9% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Tenesia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tenesia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 85 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
Tenesia 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 Tenesia 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 Tenesia
The given name Tenesia is believed to have its origins in Ancient Greece, derived from the word "tenes," which means "to stretch" or "to extend." It is thought to have been used as a name to symbolize strength, endurance, and perseverance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tenesia can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a young woman by that name who lived in the city of Sparta during the 5th century BC. According to Herodotus, Tenesia was a skilled athlete known for her prowess in long-distance running and wrestling.
In the 3rd century BC, there was a woman named Tenesia who was a renowned philosopher and teacher in the city of Athens. She was a follower of the Stoic school of thought and was known for her insightful teachings on virtue, self-control, and the pursuit of wisdom.
During the Byzantine era, around the 6th century AD, there was a Saint Tenesia who was a nun in a monastery located in what is now modern-day Turkey. She was revered for her piety, compassion, and devotion to helping the poor and sick.
In the 12th century, a woman named Tenesia was a prominent figure in the court of the Norman king Roger II of Sicily. She was a skilled diplomat and negotiator, known for her ability to resolve conflicts and forge alliances between the various cultural and religious groups in the kingdom.
Another notable individual with the name Tenesia was a 16th-century Italian artist and painter who lived in Venice. She was celebrated for her vibrant and expressive portraits, which captured the essence of her subjects with remarkable skill and sensitivity.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tenesia, a name that has carried with it connotations of strength, resilience, and intellectual prowess across various cultures and time periods.
People
Tenesia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tenesia 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
Tenesia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tenesia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tenesia 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 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Tenesia a common name?
We classify Tenesia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tenesia most popular?
The single biggest year for Tenesia was 1983, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tenesia is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tenesia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Tenesia, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Tenesia 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 Tenesia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tenesia appears almost entirely female. Of the 172 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Tenesia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenesia is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tenesia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tenesia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (146 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 Tenesia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tenesia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tenesia 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 Tenesia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tenesia 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 Tenesia 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 have Tenesia as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Tenesia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.