Tiersa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Scandinavian root.
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Tiersa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tiersa today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tiersa births was 1971 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tiersa. 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 Tiersa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
1971
10 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2003 SSA rank
#18,207
Tracked since 1965
Census
Tiersa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Tiersa, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tiersa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tiersa is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Tiersa 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 Tiersa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.8% · 102
- Black or African American21.9% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 13
- Two or more races3.9% · 6
Popularity
Tiersa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tiersa from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tiersa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tiersa 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 Tiersa 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 Tiersa
The name Tiersa is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages, which was spoken in the southern region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3000 BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "tir," meaning "life," and "sa," meaning "protection" or "guardian."
In the ancient Sumerian culture, names often held deep symbolic meanings and were believed to have a profound influence on an individual's destiny. The name Tiersa may have been given to children as a way to bestow upon them the blessings of a long, protected life.
The earliest known record of the name Tiersa can be traced back to a cuneiform tablet dating back to around 2500 BC, which lists the name among a group of individuals involved in a commercial transaction. This suggests that the name was already in use during the early days of the Sumerian civilization.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tiersa. One of the earliest recorded examples is Tiersa of Uruk, a high priestess who lived in the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk around 2300 BC. She is mentioned in various clay tablet inscriptions as a prominent religious figure of her time.
Another notable figure was Tiersa the Scribe, a renowned Sumerian scholar and writer who lived around 2100 BC. She is credited with authoring several literary works, including poems and hymns, which have been preserved on clay tablets and provide valuable insights into the culture and beliefs of ancient Sumer.
In the 6th century BC, Tiersa of Corinth was a renowned Greek sculptor and artist known for her intricate works in marble and bronze. Her sculptures were highly regarded in ancient Greece and were often commissioned by wealthy patrons and temples.
During the medieval period, Tiersa of Bari was an Italian nun and abbess who lived in the 11th century. She was revered for her piety, wisdom, and leadership, and played a significant role in the religious and cultural life of the region.
In more recent times, Tiersa Guzman was a prominent Mexican artist and activist who lived from 1920 to 2005. She was celebrated for her vibrant murals and paintings that depicted the struggles and resilience of Indigenous communities in Mexico.
While the name Tiersa may have its roots in the ancient Sumerian language, its meaning and significance have transcended cultures and time periods, making it a name with a rich and enduring history.
People
Tiersa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tiersa 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
Tiersa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tiersa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tiersa 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Tiersa a common name?
We classify Tiersa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 99 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tiersa most popular?
The single biggest year for Tiersa was 1971, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tiersa is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tiersa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Tiersa, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Tiersa 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 Tiersa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tiersa appears almost entirely female. Of the 159 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 Tiersa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tiersa is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Tiersa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tiersa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (102 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 Tiersa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tiersa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tiersa 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 Tiersa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tiersa 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 Tiersa 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 Tiersa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.