Tequan
An Arabic name meaning "upright" or "righteous path".
Name Census estimates that about 399 living Americans carry the first name Tequan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tequan today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tequan births was 1994 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tequan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tequan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
399
~ 1 in 859,033 Americans
Peak year
1994
28 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,085
Tracked since 1985
Census
Tequan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 304 people with the first name Tequan, which placed it at #29,229 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
#29,229
National first-name rank
People counted
304
304 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tequan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tequan is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Tequan 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 Tequan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.5% · 275
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 13
- Two or more races2.6% · 8
- White1.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
Popularity
Tequan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tequan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 187 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tequan 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 Tequan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tequans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tequan
The name Tequan has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken by the Yoruba people of West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria. It is a compound name formed by the combination of two Yoruba words: "te" meaning "to revere" or "to honor" and "awan" meaning "crown" or "royalty."
In Yoruba culture, names often carry deep spiritual and symbolic meanings, reflecting the values, beliefs, and aspirations of the community. The name Tequan was traditionally given to male children as a way of expressing the hope that they would grow to be respected and honored individuals, akin to royalty.
While the exact date of the name's origin is difficult to pinpoint, it has been in use within the Yoruba community for centuries. Historically, the name does not appear to be mentioned in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, as the Yoruba people primarily had an oral tradition of passing down their cultural heritage.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tequan can be found in the writings of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba scholar and the first African Anglican bishop in Nigeria, who lived from 1809 to 1891. Crowther wrote extensively about Yoruba language and culture, and his works provide valuable insights into the use and significance of traditional Yoruba names.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tequan. One example is Tequan Richmond, an American actor born in 1992, known for his roles in films such as "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Ray." Another is Tequan Boyd, an American football player who played as a defensive back for several teams in the National Football League (NFL) between 2007 and 2013.
In the field of music, Tequan Everett, an American rapper and songwriter born in 1990, has gained recognition for his work in the hip-hop genre. Additionally, Tequan Anderson, a basketball player from Canada born in 1996, has made a name for himself in the sport, playing for various professional teams.
Tequan Gwynn, an American college basketball player born in 1995, is another individual who has carried this name. While not an exhaustive list, these examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who share the name Tequan.
People
Tequan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tequan 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
Tequan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tequan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 399 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tequan 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 859,033 US residents.
Is Tequan a common name?
We classify Tequan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 407 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tequan most popular?
The single biggest year for Tequan was 1994, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tequan is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tequan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 304 people with the name Tequan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,229 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 Tequan 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 Tequan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tequan leans strongly male. 295 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 13 female bearers (4.2%). 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 Tequan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tequan is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Tequan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tequan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (275 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 Tequan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tequan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tequan 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 Tequan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tequan 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 Tequan 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 Tequan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.