Tenoch
A masculine Nahuatl name meaning "fruitful stone" or "stony one".
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Tenoch. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tenoch today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tenoch births was 2006 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tenoch. 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
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
2006
22 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,664
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Tenoch: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tenoch from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 127 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Tenoch remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tenoch 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 Tenoch during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tenochs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tenoch
The name Tenoch has its origins in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica. It is derived from the Nahuatl word "tenahuac," which means "near the stone wall." The name likely emerged during the height of the Aztec Empire, which spanned from the 14th to 16th centuries CE.
Tenoch is closely associated with the legendary founding of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City). According to Aztec mythology, the gods instructed the Aztecs to found their city at the location where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus, devouring a serpent. This prophetic symbol is depicted on the Mexican flag. The city was named Tenochtitlan, after Tenoch, the leader who is said to have witnessed the divine sign.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tenoch was Tenoch, the semi-mythical leader of the Mexica people (who later became known as the Aztecs) during the 13th century CE. He is credited with leading his people to the Valley of Mexico and establishing the foundations of the Aztec Empire.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a prominent figure named Tenoch Camic served as a military leader and advisor to the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II. He played a crucial role in the defense of Tenochtitlan against the Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés.
Another notable individual with the name Tenoch was Tenoch Huerta Muñoz, a Mexican politician and activist who lived from 1890 to 1935. He was a prominent member of the Mexican Communist Party and fought for workers' rights and social reforms.
Tenoch Villa, a Mexican actor born in 1986, is a contemporary figure who has brought renewed attention to the name. He has starred in several critically acclaimed films, including "Huasteca" and "Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths," directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
In recent times, the name Tenoch has gained popularity as a given name in Mexico, particularly among those who embrace their indigenous Aztec heritage and wish to honor the historical and cultural significance of the name.
People
Tenoch + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tenoch 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
Tenoch: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tenoch?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tenoch 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 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Tenoch a common name?
We classify Tenoch as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tenoch most popular?
The single biggest year for Tenoch was 2006, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tenoch is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tenoch a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tenoch 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.
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.