Tierany
A feminine name potentially deriving from Tierra, meaning "earth" or "land" in Spanish.
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Tierany. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tierany today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tierany births was 2008 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tierany. 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
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
2008
15 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,916
Tracked since 1987
Census
Tierany in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 173 people with the first name Tierany, which placed it at #41,949 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
#41,949
National first-name rank
People counted
173
173 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tierany
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tierany is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Tierany 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 Tierany at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.1% · 85
- White38.2% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 8
- Two or more races4.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Tierany: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tierany from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 76 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
Tierany 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 Tierany during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tieranys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tierany
The name Tierany has its origins in the ancient Gaelic language, which was spoken in parts of what is now Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. It is derived from the word "tiarna," which means "lord" or "master." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone of noble or aristocratic lineage, or perhaps to someone who held a position of authority or leadership within their community.
While the exact origin and meaning of the name Tierany is shrouded in the mists of time, it is believed to have first emerged during the Middle Ages, a period spanning from the 5th to the 15th centuries. During this time, the Gaelic language and culture flourished across parts of the British Isles, and names with Gaelic roots became increasingly common.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tierany can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history that dates back to the 15th century. The annals mention a man named Tierany O'Neill, who was a chieftain of the powerful O'Neill dynasty in Ulster, Ireland. Unfortunately, the exact dates of his birth and death are not known, but his inclusion in this important historical record suggests that he was a prominent figure in his time.
Another notable individual with the name Tierany was a Scottish warrior who lived during the 13th century. Known as Tierany MacLeod, he was a member of the MacLeod clan, a powerful family that held lands on the Isle of Skye and the nearby Hebrides islands. While little is known about his specific exploits, his name has been preserved in various clan histories and local legends, reflecting the importance of his role within his community.
In the 16th century, a woman named Tierany O'Donnell was recorded as being a skilled herbalist and healer in the Donegal region of Ireland. Her knowledge of traditional Irish medicine and remedies was renowned, and she was sought out by people from far and wide for her expertise. While her exact dates of birth and death are unknown, her legacy as a respected healer has endured through the centuries.
Moving forward in time, the name Tierany also appears in historical records from the 18th century. One such individual was Tierany MacGregor, a Scottish Jacobite who fought alongside the famous rebel leader, Bonnie Prince Charlie, during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. While the uprising was ultimately unsuccessful, Tierany's participation in this pivotal moment in Scottish history has ensured his place in the annals of that turbulent era.
Finally, in the 19th century, a woman named Tierany O'Connor was a prominent figure in the Irish literary and cultural revival movement. Born in County Mayo in 1856, she dedicated her life to promoting and preserving the rich heritage of Irish language, literature, and folklore. Her efforts played a significant role in revitalizing interest in Irish culture and helped to ensure that the Gaelic traditions, including the meaning and significance of names like Tierany, were not lost to future generations.
People
Tierany + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tierany 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
Tierany: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tierany?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tierany 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 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Tierany a common name?
We classify Tierany as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tierany most popular?
The single biggest year for Tierany was 2008, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tierany 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 Tierany in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 173 people with the name Tierany, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,949 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 Tierany 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 Tierany?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tierany appears almost entirely female. Of the 165 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 Tierany?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tierany is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Tierany most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tierany in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (85 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 Tierany in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tierany a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tierany 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 Tierany still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tierany 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 Tierany 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 Tierany as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.