Tonna
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from the Italian word for tuna.
Name Census estimates that about 649 living Americans carry the first name Tonna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tonna today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tonna births was 1966 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tonna. 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
649
~ 1 in 528,127 Americans
Peak year
1966
33 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,251
Tracked since 1944
Census
Tonna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 714 people with the first name Tonna, which placed it at #15,948 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
#15,948
National first-name rank
People counted
714
714 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tonna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tonna is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Tonna 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 Tonna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.7% · 519
- Black or African American16.2% · 116
- Two or more races5.3% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 7
Popularity
Tonna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tonna from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 231 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tonna 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 Tonna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tonnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tonna
The name Tonna is believed to have its origins in Old Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the 5th century CE. The name is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "þunraz," which means "thunder." This suggests that the name was initially associated with the natural phenomenon of thunder and its powerful, resonating sound.
In ancient Norse mythology, the god Thor was often depicted as the wielder of thunderbolts, and his name is closely linked to the word "þunraz." It is possible that the name Tonna was initially used to honor or pay tribute to this powerful deity, particularly among Germanic tribes and communities that worshipped Thor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tonna can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. In this text, the name appears as "Taunna," which is believed to be a variant spelling of the same name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tonna. One such person was Tonna of Armorica (c. 590 - c. 660), a Breton saint and hermit who lived in the 7th century. He is revered in the Catholic Church and is the patron saint of several towns in Brittany, France.
Another historical figure with the name Tonna was Tonna of Thérouanne (c. 890 - c. 960), a Flemish Benedictine monk and hagiographer who wrote biographies of saints. His work, known as the "Life of St. Omer," is an important source of information about the early history of the region.
In the 11th century, Tonna of Essen (c. 1010 - c. 1080) was a German Benedictine abbess who presided over the Essen Abbey in modern-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She is remembered for her leadership and efforts to promote education and culture within the abbey.
During the 12th century, Tonna of Bamberg (c. 1130 - c. 1200) was a German noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the administration of the city of Bamberg, in present-day Bavaria, Germany.
Finally, in the 15th century, Tonna of Saxony (c. 1440 - c. 1510) was a German nun and abbess who served as the head of the Benedictine convent in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. She is recognized for her contributions to the religious and cultural life of the region during her tenure.
People
Tonna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tonna 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
Tonna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tonna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 649 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tonna 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 528,127 US residents.
Is Tonna a common name?
We classify Tonna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 799 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tonna most popular?
The single biggest year for Tonna was 1966, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tonna is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tonna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 714 people with the name Tonna, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,948 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 Tonna 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 Tonna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tonna leans strongly female. 687 people counted with this name were female (96.4%), compared with 26 male bearers (3.6%). 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 Tonna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tonna is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Tonna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tonna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.7% (519 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 Tonna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tonna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tonna 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.
Is Tonna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tonna 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 Tonna 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 many people have Tonna as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.