Tenise
A French feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from Athanasius.
Name Census estimates that about 281 living Americans carry the first name Tenise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tenise today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tenise births was 1981 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tenise. 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
281
~ 1 in 1,219,766 Americans
Peak year
1981
16 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,210
Tracked since 1961
Census
Tenise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 293 people with the first name Tenise, which placed it at #29,959 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
#29,959
National first-name rank
People counted
293
293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenise is Black at 74.4%. The next largest groups are White (16.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tenise 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 Tenise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.4% · 218
- White16.4% · 48
- Two or more races4.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Tenise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tenise from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 112 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
Tenise 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 Tenise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tenises live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tenise
The name Tenise is derived from the Greek name Thenesis, which means "supplication" or "entreaty." It is believed to have originated in ancient Greece during the classical period, around the 5th century BCE. The name was likely used as a reference to prayers or supplications made to the Greek gods and goddesses.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are no specific references to the name Tenise or its variants. However, the concept of supplication and entreaty was prevalent in the religious practices of the time, as the Greeks often sought the favor and blessings of their deities through prayers and offerings.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Tenise can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over parts of the Mediterranean region from the 4th to the 15th century CE. During this time, the name was used by both men and women, although it was more common among women.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Tenise was a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 9th century CE. Little is known about her life, but historical records indicate that she was a prominent figure in the imperial court of Constantinople.
Another notable figure with the name Tenise was a Greek Orthodox nun who lived in the 11th century CE. She was known for her piety and dedication to the monastic life, and her writings on spiritual matters were widely read and influential in her time.
In the 13th century CE, there was a Venetian merchant named Tenise who played a significant role in establishing trade routes between Europe and the Middle East. His travels and business ventures contributed to the exchange of goods and ideas between different cultures.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian artist named Tenise was renowned for her skillful portraiture and religious paintings. She worked in the court of the Medici family in Florence and was highly regarded for her talent and attention to detail.
In the 16th century, a Spanish explorer named Tenise was part of an expedition to the New World, where he documented his encounters with indigenous peoples and the natural wonders of the Americas. His detailed accounts provided valuable insights into the cultures and landscapes of the region.
While the name Tenise has its roots in ancient Greece, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, often associated with individuals who made significant contributions in their respective fields or left a lasting impact on history.
People
Tenise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tenise 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
Tenise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tenise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 281 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tenise 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 1,219,766 US residents.
Is Tenise a common name?
We classify Tenise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tenise most popular?
The single biggest year for Tenise was 1981, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tenise is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tenise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 293 people with the name Tenise, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,959 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 Tenise 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 Tenise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tenise appears almost entirely female. Of the 291 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 Tenise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenise is Black at 74.4%. The next largest groups are White (16.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tenise most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tenise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.4% (218 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 Tenise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tenise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tenise 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 Tenise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tenise 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 Tenise 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 Tenise?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.