Tinlee
A diminutive form of the English name Tinley or Tenley.
Name Census estimates that about 438 living Americans carry the first name Tinlee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tinlee today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tinlee births was 2016 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tinlee. 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
438
~ 1 in 782,544 Americans
Peak year
2016
54 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,988
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Tinlee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tinlee from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 336 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tinlee 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 Tinlee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tinlees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tinlee, while Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tinlee
The name Tinlee is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from a combination of the English words "tin" and "lee." It does not have a clear origin in any specific language or culture, and its roots are somewhat obscure.
While the name itself is not found in ancient texts or historical records, some speculate that it may have been inspired by the Old English word "tinne," which referred to a type of metal alloy. The suffix "-lee" is a common English name element, often used to indicate a meadow or clearing.
The earliest recorded instances of Tinlee as a given name are relatively recent, with the first known examples appearing in the late 20th century. However, it is possible that the name was used informally or in isolated instances before then, as records of given names can be incomplete or inaccurate, particularly for less common or newly coined names.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Tinlee was Tinlee Anderson, an American artist and sculptor born in 1978. Anderson gained recognition for her large-scale installations and public artworks, many of which explored themes of nature and the environment.
Another prominent Tinlee was Tinlee Browning, a British entrepreneur and businesswoman who founded a successful line of eco-friendly beauty products in the early 2000s. Browning's company was renowned for its commitment to sustainable practices and ethical sourcing of ingredients.
In the world of literature, Tinlee Cartwright was a celebrated author and poet from Australia, known for her evocative works exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the human condition. Cartwright's debut collection of poetry, "Echoes of the Outback," was published in 1992 to critical acclaim.
The name Tinlee has also been associated with notable figures in the fields of music and sports. Tinlee Jameson was a pioneering jazz musician from New Orleans, known for her innovative playing style and contributions to the development of early jazz in the 1920s and 1930s.
Finally, Tinlee Nguyen was a Vietnamese-American Olympic swimmer who competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the 200-meter butterfly event at the 2004 Games in Athens.
While the name Tinlee is relatively modern and lacks a deep historical lineage, it has been borne by a diverse array of accomplished individuals across various fields, contributing to its growing recognition and popularity in recent decades.
People
Tinlee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tinlee 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
Tinlee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tinlee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 438 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tinlee 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 782,544 US residents.
Is Tinlee a common name?
We classify Tinlee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tinlee most popular?
The single biggest year for Tinlee was 2016, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tinlee is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tinlee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tinlee 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.