Tupac
A masculine name originating from the Quechua language meaning "he who shines brilliantly".
Name Census estimates that about 85 living Americans carry the first name Tupac. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tupac today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tupac births was 1997 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tupac. 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 Tupac. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
85
~ 1 in 4,032,404 Americans
Peak year
1997
10 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,022
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Tupac: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tupac from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 41 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tupac remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tupac 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 Tupac 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 Tupac
The name Tupac has its origins in the Quechua language, spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Andes in South America. It is derived from the Quechua words "tupaq" meaning "to shine" or "to glow" and "yupanqui" meaning "with honor." The name was common among the Inca civilization, which flourished in modern-day Peru and surrounding regions from the 13th to 16th centuries.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Tupac was Tupac Amaru I, an Inca leader who led a rebellion against Spanish colonial rule in Peru in the 18th century. He was born in 1545 and executed by the Spanish in 1572. His descendants, including Tupac Amaru II and Tupac Amaru III, continued the struggle for indigenous rights and independence in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Another prominent figure named Tupac was Tupac Katari, an Aymara rebel leader who fought against Spanish colonial rule in what is now Bolivia in the late 18th century. He was born around 1750 and executed by the Spanish in 1781.
In pre-Columbian times, the name Tupac was also associated with royalty and divinity among the Inca. One of the most famous Inca rulers was Tupac Yupanqui, who reigned from 1471 to 1493 and expanded the Inca Empire through military conquests.
Later, the name Tupac gained recognition in the 20th century through the iconic rapper and actor Tupac Amaru Shakur, who was born in 1971 and tragically died in 1996. He was named after the Inca revolutionary Tupac Amaru II and became a symbol of resistance and social justice through his music and activism.
Another notable figure with the name Tupac was Tupac Shakur, a Peruvian author, and activist who was the father of the famous rapper. He was born in 1935 and was a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, advocating for civil rights and social change.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tupac
People
Tupac + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tupac 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
Tupac: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tupac?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tupac 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 4,032,404 US residents.
Is Tupac a common name?
We classify Tupac as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tupac most popular?
The single biggest year for Tupac was 1997, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tupac is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tupac a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tupac 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.
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.