Tonatiuh
A masculine name of Nahuatl origin meaning "sun god".
Name Census estimates that about 300 living Americans carry the first name Tonatiuh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tonatiuh today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tonatiuh births was 2011 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tonatiuh. 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
300
~ 1 in 1,142,514 Americans
Peak year
2011
22 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,670
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Tonatiuh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tonatiuh from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Tonatiuh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tonatiuh 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 Tonatiuh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tonatiuhs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh is a given name of Nahuatl origin, derived from the Aztec language spoken in central Mexico. The name literally translates to "He who goes forth shining" or "Reverend Sun", referring to the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh.
This name has its roots in the rich cultural and religious traditions of the Aztec civilization, which thrived in the region now known as Mexico between the 14th and 16th centuries. The Aztecs were deeply connected to nature and the celestial bodies, and Tonatiuh was one of their most revered deities, representing the life-giving force of the sun.
The name Tonatiuh is mentioned in various Aztec codices and historical records, such as the Codex Mendoza, which depicts the Aztec sun god and the associated rituals and ceremonies. It is also found in the Florentine Codex, a comprehensive ethnographic study of Aztec culture compiled in the 16th century by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tonatiuh was a Mexica ruler known as Tonatiuh Ilhuicamina, who reigned in the early 15th century. He was succeeded by his son, Tonatiuh II, who inherited the throne and continued the Aztec tradition of honoring the sun god.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tonatiuh, including Tonatiuh Quiauhtli (c. 1486 - c. 1540), a Nahua warrior and conquistador who fought alongside Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Tonatiuh Díaz (1917 - 2008) was a Mexican artist and sculptor known for his monumental public works and abstract representations of pre-Hispanic themes.
Another prominent figure was Tonatiuh Gutiérrez (1920 - 2008), a Mexican painter and muralist whose works depicted the indigenous people and landscapes of Mexico. Tonatiuh García Rubio (born 1956) is a Mexican writer and academic, celebrated for his contributions to contemporary Mexican literature.
Tonatiuh Velázquez (born 1978) is a Mexican-American author and illustrator who has won numerous awards, including the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, for his children's books celebrating Mexican culture and history.
People
Tonatiuh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tonatiuh 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
Tonatiuh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tonatiuh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 300 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tonatiuh 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 1,142,514 US residents.
Is Tonatiuh a common name?
We classify Tonatiuh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tonatiuh most popular?
The single biggest year for Tonatiuh was 2011, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tonatiuh is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tonatiuh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tonatiuh 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.
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.