Tshombe
Of Bantu origin, meaning "what you cry for will be given".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Tshombe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tshombe today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tshombe births was 1976 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tshombe. 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 Tshombe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1976
9 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,094
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Tshombe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tshombe from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 37 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tshombe 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 Tshombe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tshombe
The name Tshombe originates from the Luba-Kasai language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is derived from the word "tshomb," which means "to lead" or "to guide." The name gained prominence in the 20th century during the Congo Crisis and the fight for independence from Belgian colonial rule.
One of the earliest and most notable individuals with the name Tshombe was Moise Tshombe, a Congolese politician and military officer. He served as the President of the secessionist State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and later as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1964 to 1965. Moise Tshombe was born in 1919 and died in 1969.
Another historical figure with the name Tshombe was Godefroid Munongo Mwene Kalondji Tshombe, a Congolese politician and leader of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) party. He played a significant role in the struggle for independence and served as the Minister of the Interior in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's first government in 1960. Godefroid Munongo Mwene Kalondji Tshombe was born in 1914 and died in 1961.
In the realm of literature, Tshombe Kumakanga Biaya is a Congolese writer and poet known for his works exploring themes of identity, culture, and social issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was born in 1947 and has published several collections of poetry, including "Chants de la Mémoire" (Songs of Memory) and "Lèvres d'Amande" (Almond Lips).
Tshombe Kanda Yumbu is a Congolese musician and singer-songwriter who has been active in the Congolese music scene since the 1980s. He is known for his contributions to the Soukous genre, a popular style of Congolese music that blends African and Caribbean rhythms. Tshombe Kanda Yumbu was born in 1962.
Tshombe Okitundu is a Congolese-American academic and author who has written extensively on African literature, politics, and cultural studies. He is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has published works such as "Migrations and the Body in African Literature" and "Constitutions and the Paradox of Democratic Struggles in Africa." Tshombe Okitundu was born in 1953.
People
Tshombe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tshombe 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
Tshombe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tshombe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tshombe 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Tshombe a common name?
We classify Tshombe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tshombe most popular?
The single biggest year for Tshombe was 1976, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tshombe is about 54 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 Tshombe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tshombe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tshombe 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 Tshombe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tshombe 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 Tshombe 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 have Tshombe as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.