Tunde
A masculine Yoruba name meaning "he comes back".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Tunde. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tunde today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tunde births was 1988 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tunde. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tunde with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Tunde. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1988
6 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,211
Tracked since 1988
Census
Tunde in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 708 people with the first name Tunde, which placed it at #16,051 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
#16,051
National first-name rank
People counted
708
708 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tunde
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tunde is Black at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Tunde 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 Tunde at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.2% · 398
- White42.2% · 299
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 3
- Two or more races0.3% · 2
Popularity
Tunde: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Tunde 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 Tunde 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 Tunde
The given name Tunde originates from the Yoruba language, which is spoken primarily in southwestern Nigeria and neighboring areas of West Africa. The name dates back several centuries to the Yoruba people's history and cultural traditions.
Tunde is derived from the Yoruba words "ọmọ ṫuntun," which translates to "the new child" or "the new arrival." This name was commonly given to children born after a significant event or during a particularly auspicious time, signifying a fresh start and new beginnings.
In ancient Yoruba texts and oral traditions, the name Tunde is mentioned in various contexts, often associated with stories of birth, renewal, and hope. It was a name bestowed upon children to symbolize the joy and blessings they brought to their families and communities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tunde can be found in the 16th century, when a Yoruba prince named Tunde Ibadan was born in the city of Ibadan, which later became a prominent center of Yoruba culture and tradition.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tunde. Among them are:
1. Tunde Idiagbon (1943-1998), a Nigerian military officer and politician who served as the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters during the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari in the 1980s.
2. Tunde Bakare (born 1955), a Nigerian pastor, activist, and founder of the Latter Rain Assembly, a prominent Pentecostal church in Lagos.
3. Tunde Kelani (born 1948), a Nigerian filmmaker and cinematographer known for his contributions to the Nollywood film industry and his advocacy for African storytelling.
4. Tunde Disu (born 1955), a Nigerian music composer, producer, and musician who has worked with several notable artists and contributed to the development of Nigerian popular music.
5. Tunde Fatunde (born 1967), a Nigerian-American actor and director who has appeared in various television shows and films, including "The Wire" and "Luke Cage."
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Tunde throughout history, each making significant contributions in their respective fields and representing the rich cultural heritage and diversity of the Yoruba people.
People
Tunde + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tunde 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
Tunde: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tunde?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tunde 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 Tunde a common name?
We classify Tunde 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 Tunde most popular?
The single biggest year for Tunde was 1988, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tunde is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tunde in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 708 people with the name Tunde, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,051 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 Tunde 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 Tunde?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Tunde on both sides of the split. Of the 707 people counted with this name, 401 were male (56.7%) and 306 were female (43.3%). 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 Tunde?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tunde is Black at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Tunde most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tunde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (398 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 Tunde in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tunde a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tunde 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 Tunde still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tunde 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 Tunde 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 Americans are named Tunde?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.