Tristina
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the name Tristan.
Name Census estimates that about 422 living Americans carry the first name Tristina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tristina today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tristina births was 1985 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tristina. 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
422
~ 1 in 812,214 Americans
Peak year
1985
21 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2022 SSA rank
#17,535
Tracked since 1967
Popularity
Tristina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tristina from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tristina 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 Tristina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tristinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tristina
The given name Tristina is a feminine form of the masculine name Tristan, originating from the Latin name Tristanus. The name Tristanus is believed to have derived from the Latin word "tristis," meaning "sad" or "sorrowful." It is thought to have been originally a nickname given to a person with a melancholic or gloomy demeanor.
The name Tristina gained popularity in the Middle Ages, particularly in France and Britain, where it was associated with the legendary Arthurian character Tristan, the nephew of King Mark of Cornwall. The tragic love story of Tristan and Iseult, first recorded in the 12th century, became a popular subject in medieval literature and played a significant role in the widespread use of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tristina can be found in the 13th-century French poem "Cligès" by Chrétien de Troyes, where a character named Tristina appears as a handmaiden to the protagonist's wife. It is also mentioned in the 14th-century Middle English poem "Sir Tristrem," which recounts the legend of Tristan and Iseult.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tristina. In the 16th century, Tristina Arrighi (1508-1577) was an Italian painter and miniaturist active in Florence during the Renaissance. Another Tristina of note was Tristina Gherardi (1565-1610), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who supported the work of renowned artists such as Caravaggio.
In the 18th century, Tristina Stelzer (1705-1787) was a German playwright and novelist known for her contributions to the early German Enlightenment. During the same period, Tristina Oliveri (1718-1793) was an Italian painter and engraver who worked in the Baroque and Rococo styles.
More recently, in the 20th century, Tristina Huddart (1917-2005) was a British artist and sculptor known for her abstract works, while Tristina Gilmore (1937-2019) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions.
People
Tristina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tristina 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
Tristina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tristina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 422 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tristina 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 812,214 US residents.
Is Tristina a common name?
We classify Tristina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 442 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tristina most popular?
The single biggest year for Tristina was 1985, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tristina is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tristina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tristina 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.
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.