Tranis
A variant of the Old Norse name Traunis meaning "faithful, trustworthy".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Tranis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tranis today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tranis births was 1981 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tranis. 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 Tranis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1981
6 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1981 SSA rank
#6,206
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Tranis: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tranis 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 Tranis 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 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Tranis
The name Tranis has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now central Italy between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC. It is derived from the Etruscan word "trani," which means "to lead" or "to guide." The name likely originated as a title or honorific bestowed upon leaders and noble warriors within Etruscan society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tranis can be found in a series of inscriptions on funerary urns and sarcophagi discovered in the excavated Etruscan necropolis of Cerveteri, dating back to the 6th century BC. These inscriptions suggest that Tranis was a name borne by members of the Etruscan aristocracy and ruling classes.
As the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire expanded their influence and absorbed the Etruscan territories, the name Tranis became more widely disseminated throughout the Mediterranean region. It can be found in various Roman historical texts and records, often associated with individuals of Etruscan descent who held positions of authority or prominence within the Roman political and military spheres.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Tranis was a Roman senator and military commander who lived in the 2nd century AD. Tranis Aurelius is recorded as having led a successful campaign against the Germanic tribes along the Danube frontier, earning him the honorific title "Germanicus" for his victories.
In the 4th century AD, a Christian martyr named Tranis of Antioch is mentioned in various hagiographic accounts. According to these sources, Tranis was a prominent citizen of Antioch who was executed for his faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century.
Another historical figure with the name Tranis was a Byzantine scholar and theologian who lived in the 9th century AD. Tranis of Constantinople was renowned for his contributions to the study of Greek philosophy and his commentaries on the works of Aristotle and Plato.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the name Tranis appears to have fallen out of widespread use, likely due to the decline of the Etruscan language and culture. However, it reemerged in the 17th century, when a Dutch painter and engraver named Tranis Hagebuch (1605-1654) achieved some renown for his landscapes and depictions of rural life.
In the 19th century, a French novelist and playwright named Tranis Leconte (1818-1894) gained literary acclaim for his works exploring themes of love, passion, and societal conventions. His most famous novel, "La Princesse de Clèves," is considered a masterpiece of French realist fiction.
People
Tranis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tranis 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
Tranis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tranis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tranis 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Tranis a common name?
We classify Tranis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tranis most popular?
The single biggest year for Tranis was 1981, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tranis 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 Tranis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tranis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tranis 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 Tranis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tranis 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 Tranis 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 people share the name Tranis?
Want to know how many people share the name Tranis? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.