Teyana
An African name meaning "new day" or "twins born on the same day".
Name Census estimates that about 1,116 living Americans carry the first name Teyana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Teyana today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teyana births was 2017 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teyana. 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 Teyana with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Teyana is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 307,128 Americans
Peak year
2017
66 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,360
Tracked since 1982
Census
Teyana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 699 people with the first name Teyana, which placed it at #16,219 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
#16,219
National first-name rank
People counted
699
699 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Teyana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teyana is Black at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Teyana 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 Teyana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.8% · 530
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 66
- Two or more races7.7% · 54
- White5.9% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Teyana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teyana from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 406 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Teyana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teyana 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 Teyana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Teyanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Florida, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Teyana, while Tennessee, Illinois, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Teyana
The name Teyana has its roots in the Akan language spoken by the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa. It is derived from the Akan word "tɛyahyɛ," which means "it is sweet" or "it is good." The name dates back to at least the 15th century, when the Akan people established the Ashanti Empire in present-day Ghana.
Historically, the name Teyana was associated with the Akan traditions and cultural practices. It was often given to girls born during times of celebration or prosperity, symbolizing the sweetness and goodness of life. In some Akan communities, the name was also believed to bring good luck and blessings to the child.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Teyana can be found in the Akan oral traditions, where stories and proverbs featuring characters with this name were passed down through generations. However, it is difficult to pinpoint specific individuals with this name in ancient times due to the scarcity of written records from that period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Teyana. One such figure was Teyana Doe (c. 1810-1890), a renowned Akan storyteller and oral historian who played a crucial role in preserving the cultural heritage and traditions of her people.
Another prominent figure was Teyana Mensah (1920-2005), a Ghanaian politician and activist who advocated for women's rights and gender equality. She served as a member of parliament and was instrumental in shaping policies that empowered women in Ghana.
In the realm of arts and culture, Teyana Taylor (born 1990) is a contemporary American singer, songwriter, and actress of Akan descent. She has gained widespread recognition for her contributions to the music industry and has been praised for her unique blend of R&B, hip-hop, and pop styles.
Teyana Venzor (born 1985) is a Ghanaian-American businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded a successful line of natural hair care products. Her company has been widely recognized for promoting self-love and embracing natural beauty among women of African descent.
Lastly, Teyana Alston (1975-2010) was a Liberian-American author and poet whose works explored themes of identity, diaspora, and the experiences of African immigrants in the United States. Her powerful writings shed light on the complexities of navigating multiple cultural identities.
People
Teyana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teyana 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
Teyana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teyana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teyana 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 307,128 US residents.
Is Teyana a common name?
We classify Teyana as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teyana most popular?
The single biggest year for Teyana was 2017, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teyana is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Teyana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 699 people with the name Teyana, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,219 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 Teyana 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 Teyana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Teyana appears almost entirely female. Of the 707 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Teyana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Teyana is Black at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Teyana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Teyana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (530 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 Teyana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teyana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teyana 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 Teyana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teyana 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 Teyana 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 have the name Teyana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.