Tirso
A masculine name of Spanish origin meaning "woodland, thick brush".
Name Census estimates that about 245 living Americans carry the first name Tirso. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tirso today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tirso births was 1993 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tirso. 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
245
~ 1 in 1,398,997 Americans
Peak year
1993
13 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,651
Tracked since 1948
Census
Tirso in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,004 people with the first name Tirso, which placed it at #12,402 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
#12,402
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,004 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
86.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tirso
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tirso is Hispanic at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%) and White (1.2%). 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 Tirso 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 Tirso at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.0% · 863
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.2% · 122
- White1.2% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Popularity
Tirso: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tirso 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 59 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
Tirso 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 Tirso during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tirsos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tirso
The name Tirso has its origins in the Latin language. It is derived from the word "thyrsus," which refers to a staff or wand carried by the followers of the Greek god Dionysus, often adorned with ivy vines and pinecones. The name likely emerged during the Roman era, when the influence of Greek mythology was significant.
In ancient Roman texts, there are records of individuals bearing the name Tirso, though the exact details of their lives are scarce. One notable figure was Tirso of Mendes, a 4th-century Christian martyr who was executed for his beliefs during the reign of Diocletian. His name and story were preserved in various early Christian writings.
The name Tirso gained popularity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, particularly in Spain and Portugal. It was embraced by both Christian and Muslim communities, reflecting the cultural diversity of the region at that time. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Tirso de Molina, a Spanish monk, playwright, and poet who lived from 1579 to 1648. His works, including comedies and religious plays, were highly influential in the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
In the 16th century, the name Tirso was introduced to the Americas by Spanish colonizers and missionaries. It became more prevalent in Latin American countries, particularly in Mexico and parts of Central America. One notable figure was Tirso de Molina Navarrete, a Spanish-born Catholic priest who lived from 1597 to 1655 and served as a missionary in Mexico.
Another individual of historical significance was Tirso de Ávila, a 17th-century Spanish military officer and explorer who played a role in the colonization of Venezuela. He was born in 1597 and died around 1670.
In the 19th century, the name Tirso was carried by Tirso Luzuriaga, a Venezuelan politician and diplomat who lived from 1786 to 1850. He served as the first Vice President of Venezuela and played a significant role in the country's independence movement.
While the name Tirso has been used across various cultures and time periods, it has maintained a strong connection to its Latin and Iberian roots. Its association with ancient mythology, religious figures, and historical figures from the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America has contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Tirso + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tirso 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
Tirso: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tirso?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tirso 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 1,398,997 US residents.
Is Tirso a common name?
We classify Tirso as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 259 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tirso most popular?
The single biggest year for Tirso was 1993, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tirso is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tirso in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,004 people with the name Tirso, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,402 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 Tirso 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 Tirso?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tirso appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,001 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Tirso?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tirso is Hispanic at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%) and White (1.2%). 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 Tirso most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Tirso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (863 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 Tirso in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tirso a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tirso in the SSA data are male. 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 Tirso still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tirso 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 Tirso 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 common is the name Tirso?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Tirso at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.