Tewana
A feminine name derived from the Iroquois word meaning "beautiful water".
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Tewana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tewana today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tewana births was 1971 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tewana. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tewana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1971
10 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1982 SSA rank
#12,167
Tracked since 1958
Census
Tewana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Tewana, which placed it at #49,809 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
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tewana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tewana is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%). 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 Tewana 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 Tewana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.4% · 89
- White11.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.1% · 10
- Two or more races5.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 3
Popularity
Tewana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tewana from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 37 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tewana 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 Tewana 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 Tewana
The name Tewana has its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent during ancient times. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "tvanam," which means "skin" or "complexion." The name gained prominence in the Hindu tradition and was often associated with beauty and radiance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tewana can be traced back to the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this grand narrative, a character named Tewana is mentioned as a celestial nymph known for her captivating beauty. This reference suggests that the name held significant cultural significance in ancient Indian mythology.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tewana. One such figure was Tewana Devi, a 16th-century Hindu mystic and poet from the Indian state of Rajasthan. Her devotional compositions, known as bhajans, are still widely celebrated and revered in various parts of India.
Another prominent figure was Tewana Khawas, a 17th-century Sufi saint and spiritual leader from the region of Punjab. He was renowned for his teachings on love, compassion, and the pursuit of divine knowledge. His followers established a spiritual order known as the Tewana Silsila, which continues to exist today.
In the realm of literature, Tewana Begum was a 19th-century Urdu poet and writer from the city of Lucknow, British India. Her poetic works, often centering on themes of love and spirituality, gained widespread acclaim during her lifetime and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars and literary enthusiasts.
The name Tewana also found its way into the annals of Indian classical music. Tewana Bai, born in 1865, was a renowned Hindustani classical vocalist and courtesan from the city of Banaras (Varanasi). Her contributions to the Khayal and Thumri genres of music were significant, and she is remembered as one of the most influential musicians of her era.
These historical figures and their achievements serve as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and significance associated with the name Tewana. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit roots, the name has transcended time and geographical boundaries, leaving an indelible mark on various aspects of Indian history, literature, and art.
People
Tewana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tewana 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
Tewana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tewana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tewana 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Tewana a common name?
We classify Tewana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 73 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tewana most popular?
The single biggest year for Tewana was 1971, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tewana is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tewana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Tewana, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 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 Tewana 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 Tewana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tewana appears almost entirely female. Of the 129 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 Tewana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tewana is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.1%). 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 Tewana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tewana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (89 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 Tewana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tewana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tewana 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 Tewana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tewana 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 Tewana 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 Tewana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.