Tenna
A feminine name with uncertain meaning, possibly related to variations of "Tena" or "Tena".
Name Census estimates that about 425 living Americans carry the first name Tenna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tenna today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tenna births was 1961 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tenna. 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
425
~ 1 in 806,481 Americans
Peak year
1961
33 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,299
Tracked since 1902
Census
Tenna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 467 people with the first name Tenna, which placed it at #21,646 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
#21,646
National first-name rank
People counted
467
467 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenna is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Tenna 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 Tenna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 357
- Black or African American16.3% · 76
- Two or more races4.5% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Tenna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tenna from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 230 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tenna 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 Tenna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tennas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Alabama recorded the most babies named Tenna, while Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tenna
The name Tenna is of Old Norse origin, deriving from the word "tenni," which means "teeth" or "tooth." This name was commonly used in Scandinavian countries such as Iceland, Norway, and Sweden during the Viking era, which spanned from the late 8th century to the late 11th century.
Tenna was a popular name among the Vikings, who prized physical strength and valor. The name may have been given to children with particularly strong or prominent teeth, or it could have been a symbolic representation of resilience and fortitude. In ancient Norse mythology, there are references to gods and goddesses with names related to teeth, such as Tanngnióstr and Tannfé, further emphasizing the significance of this feature in Viking culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tenna can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical tales and folklore from the 13th century. The Saga of Gísli Súrsson, for example, mentions a character named Tenna Ǫngull, who lived in the 10th century and was known for his wisdom and foresight.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tenna. In the 16th century, Tenna Scholander (1508-1570) was a Swedish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the Reformation and the establishment of Protestantism in Sweden. Another prominent figure was Tenna Marsh (1801-1865), a British writer and philanthropist who advocated for women's education and social reform.
In the 20th century, Tenna Kraft (1885-1954) was a Danish film actress who appeared in several silent movies during the early days of cinema. Tenna Mäkitalo (1909-1999) was a Finnish author and journalist known for her children's books and contributions to Finnish literature. Additionally, Tenna Shöre (1920-2001) was a Swedish painter and sculptor whose works were exhibited in galleries across Europe.
While the name Tenna may not be as common today as it once was, its historical roots and connections to Norse culture and language make it a unique and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with a rich heritage.
People
Tenna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tenna 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
Tenna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tenna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 425 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tenna 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 806,481 US residents.
Is Tenna a common name?
We classify Tenna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 559 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tenna most popular?
The single biggest year for Tenna was 1961, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tenna is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tenna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 467 people with the name Tenna, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,646 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 Tenna 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 Tenna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tenna leans strongly female. 457 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 11 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Tenna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tenna is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Tenna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tenna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (357 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 Tenna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tenna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tenna 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 Tenna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tenna 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 Tenna 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 Tenna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.