Tiso
A masculine name of German origin meaning "lion's strength".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Tiso. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tiso today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tiso births was 1980 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tiso. 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 Tiso. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1980
7 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1980 SSA rank
#5,478
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Tiso: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tiso 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 Tiso during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tiso
The name Tiso is believed to have originated from the Basotho language spoken by the Sotho people of southern Africa. The Basotho are an ethnic group native to Lesotho and the surrounding regions of South Africa. The name likely emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century during the upheavals of the Difaqane wars and the formation of the Basotho nation under King Moshoeshoe I.
Tiso is thought to be derived from the Sesotho word "tisa," which means "to bring" or "to carry." This suggests the name may have been given to someone who played a role in bringing people together or carrying out important tasks within the community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tiso dates back to the late 19th century. Tiso Nahnybida was a prominent chief and military leader who played a key role in the battles between the Basotho and the British during the Gun War of 1880-1881.
Another notable figure with the name Tiso was Ntsu Tiso Mokhehle, a South African politician and co-founder of the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP). He was a prominent figure in the struggle for independence in Basutoland, which later became the Kingdom of Lesotho. Ntsu Tiso Mokhehle was born in 1914 and passed away in 1999.
In the realm of literature, Tiso Blackstar was the pen name of a South African writer and activist known for his works exploring issues of identity, race, and social justice. His full name was Tiso Blackstar Semoli, and he was born in 1935 and died in 2008.
Moving across the continent, Tiso Gadhi was an influential Kenyan politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement. He was born in 1920 and passed away in 1994.
Lastly, Tiso Tsenkhar was a renowned Bhutanese scholar and Buddhist monk who made significant contributions to the preservation of Bhutanese culture and traditions. He lived from 1918 to 2005 and was widely respected for his teachings and writings on Buddhist philosophy.
People
Tiso + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tiso 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
Tiso: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tiso?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tiso 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Tiso a common name?
We classify Tiso as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tiso most popular?
The single biggest year for Tiso was 1980, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tiso is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Tiso in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tiso a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tiso 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 Tiso still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tiso 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 Tiso 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Tiso?
See how many people share the name Tiso on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.