Turkessa
A feminine name with Turkish origins symbolizing strength and courage.
Name Census estimates that about 255 living Americans carry the first name Turkessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Turkessa today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Turkessa births was 1975 (119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Turkessa. 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
255
~ 1 in 1,344,135 Americans
Peak year
1975
119 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1987 SSA rank
#11,235
Tracked since 1975
Census
Turkessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 238 people with the first name Turkessa, which placed it at #34,342 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
#34,342
National first-name rank
People counted
238
238 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Turkessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Turkessa is Black at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Turkessa 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 Turkessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.5% · 225
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 4
- White1.3% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Turkessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Turkessa from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 256 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Turkessa 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 Turkessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Turkessas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Georgia, South Carolina, Florida recorded the most babies named Turkessa, while Tennessee, Virginia, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Turkessa
The name Turkessa finds its origins in the ancient Turkic languages of Central Asia, dating back to the 6th century CE. It is derived from the Turkic root word "türk," meaning "strength" or "power," and the suffix "-essa," which denotes a feminine form. This combination suggests that the name Turkessa was initially bestowed upon women of great fortitude and resilience within the nomadic Turkic tribes that roamed the vast steppes of the region.
In the 8th century, the name Turkessa appeared in various historical records of the Uyghur Khaganate, a prominent Turkic empire that stretched across modern-day Mongolia, Xinjiang, and parts of Central Asia. These ancient texts often referred to Turkessa as a noble title bestowed upon the wives and daughters of influential khans and warriors, signifying their esteemed status within the ruling elite.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Turkessa can be found in the "Orkhon Inscriptions," a collection of monumental stone engravings that documented the exploits of the Göktürk Khaganate, a precursor to the Uyghur Khaganate. These inscriptions, dating back to the 8th century CE, celebrate the accomplishments of a legendary warrior princess named Turkessa, whose bravery and leadership were revered by her people.
Throughout the centuries, several notable women bore the name Turkessa, leaving their mark on history. One such figure was Turkessa Khatun (1150-1220), a powerful ruler of the Seljuk Empire who governed over parts of present-day Iran and Turkmenistan. Her reign was marked by significant cultural and economic achievements, and she was widely respected for her wisdom and diplomacy.
Another prominent Turkessa was Turkessa Begum (1548-1605), a Mughal princess and the daughter of the renowned Emperor Humayun. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the construction of several architectural marvels, including the iconic Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In more recent times, the name Turkessa has been carried on by individuals such as Turkessa Sangha (1914-1998), a celebrated Mongolian opera singer and actress who gained widespread acclaim for her performances in traditional Mongolian theater and popularized the art form throughout the region.
While the name Turkessa may have its roots in ancient Turkic cultures, its enduring legacy and symbolic meaning of strength and power have transcended borders and time, making it a source of pride and inspiration for those who bear it.
People
Turkessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Turkessa 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
Turkessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Turkessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 255 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Turkessa 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 1,344,135 US residents.
Is Turkessa a common name?
We classify Turkessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Turkessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Turkessa was 1975, when 119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Turkessa is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Turkessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 238 people with the name Turkessa, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,342 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 Turkessa 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 Turkessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Turkessa appears almost entirely female. Of the 239 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Turkessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Turkessa is Black at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Turkessa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Turkessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (225 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 Turkessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Turkessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Turkessa 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.
Is Turkessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Turkessa 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 Turkessa 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 Turkessa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.