Tia
An Italian feminine name derived from the name Taziana, meaning "unknown origin".
Name Census estimates that about 31,898 living Americans carry the first name Tia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tia today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tia births was 1982 (1,189 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tia. 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 Tia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Tia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 64 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
32K
~ 1 in 10,745 Americans
Peak year
1982
1,189 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1993 SSA rank
#1,735
Tracked since 1944
Census
Tia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 30,872 people with the first name Tia, which placed it at #1,234 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
#1,234
National first-name rank
People counted
31K
30,872 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
10.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tia is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.4%) 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 Tia 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 Tia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.0% · 12,955
- Black or African American39.4% · 12,151
- Two or more races7.7% · 2,376
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 1,438
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 1,413
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 539
Gender
Gender distribution for Tia
Out of the 33,795 babies given the name Tia since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Tia as a male name
- Ranked #8,605 in 1993
- 6 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1980 (10 births)
Tia as a female name
- Ranked #1,735 in 2024
- 117 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (1,182 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tia appears almost entirely female. Of the 30,869 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Tia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tia from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 9,715 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
Tia 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 Tia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Tia, while Rhode Island, Wyoming, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 617 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tia
The name Tia is believed to have its origins in Spanish and Portuguese cultures. It is a shortened form of names like Antonia and Thomasia, derived from the Latin name Antonius. The name Antonius is thought to be of Etruscan origin, although its exact roots are uncertain.
In Spanish and Portuguese, the name Tia means "aunt" and is used as a term of endearment or affection. It is also a diminutive form of names like Leticia and Felicia. The name gained popularity in these regions during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Tia can be found in the 16th century Spanish novel "La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas. The novel features a character named Tia Claudina, who plays a pivotal role in the story.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Tia. One of the earliest was Tia of Barcelona, a 12th-century Catalan noblewoman and the wife of Count Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the region during her lifetime.
Another notable figure was Tia Pullia, a Roman woman who lived during the 1st century BC. She was the wife of Tiberius Claudius Nero and the mother of the future Roman emperor Tiberius.
In the 19th century, Tia Mowry, an American actress and singer, was born in 1978. She gained fame alongside her twin sister Tamera as the stars of the sitcom "Sister, Sister" in the 1990s.
In the world of sports, Tia Hellebaut is a notable Belgian high jumper who won multiple medals at international competitions, including gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Additionally, Tia Carrere is an American actress and former model of Spanish and Filipino descent. She is best known for her roles in films like "Wayne's World" and the TV series "Relic Hunter."
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tia, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tia
People
Tia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tia 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
Tia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31,898 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tia 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 10,745 US residents.
Is Tia a common name?
We classify Tia as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33,795 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tia most popular?
The single biggest year for Tia was 1982, when 1,189 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tia is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 30,872 people with the name Tia, or 10.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,234 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 Tia 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 Tia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tia appears almost entirely female. Of the 30,869 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Tia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tia is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.4%) 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 Tia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (12,955 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 Tia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tia a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Tia 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 Tia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tia 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 Tia 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 Tia as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.