Tilisa
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from the Spanish word "tila".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Tilisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tilisa today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tilisa births was 1979 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tilisa. 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 Tilisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1979
7 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1990 SSA rank
#12,845
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Tilisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tilisa from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Tilisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tilisa 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 Tilisa 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 Tilisa
The name Tilisa originates from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture. This name can be traced back to the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "tilaka," which means a mark or a spot, often referring to the decorative mark worn on the forehead, particularly by Hindus and Buddhists.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Tilisa can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Tilisa is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman who lived during the time of the Pandava brothers.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Tilisa. One of the most prominent was Tilisa Devi, a 16th-century Hindu queen of the Gajapati Empire in present-day Odisha, India. She was known for her courage, wisdom, and patronage of the arts and culture.
Another historical figure with this name was Tilisa Khanum, a 17th-century Mughal princess and the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan. She was renowned for her beauty and played a significant role in the court politics of the Mughal Empire.
In the 18th century, there was Tilisa Bai, a renowned Indian classical dancer and courtier of the Maratha Empire. She was praised for her exceptional skills in the Kathak dance form and her contributions to the preservation of traditional Indian dance and music.
Moving to the 19th century, Tilisa Kashmiri was a prominent Indian poet and literary figure from Kashmir. Her works, written in the Kashmiri language, explored themes of love, spirituality, and the beauty of nature.
In the early 20th century, Tilisa Thapa was a notable Nepalese social reformer and advocate for women's rights. She played a crucial role in the establishment of the first girls' school in Nepal and worked tirelessly to promote education and empower women in her country.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Tilisa throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage.
People
Tilisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tilisa 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
Tilisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tilisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tilisa 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Tilisa a common name?
We classify Tilisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tilisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Tilisa was 1979, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tilisa is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tilisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tilisa 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.
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.