Twayne
A baby boy's name derived from the French term meaning "between two rivers".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Twayne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Twayne today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Twayne births was 1974 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Twayne. 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 Twayne. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1974
5 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,402
Tracked since 1974
Census
Twayne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 105 people with the first name Twayne, which placed it at #52,717 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
#52,717
National first-name rank
People counted
105
105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Twayne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Twayne is Black at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Twayne 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 Twayne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.1% · 81
- White15.2% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Popularity
Twayne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Twayne from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Twayne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Twayne 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 Twayne 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 Twayne
The given name Twayne finds its origins in Old English, derived from the word "twægen," which translates to "two" or "a pair." This linguistic root suggests that the name may have been initially used to refer to twins or the second child in a family.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, the name Twayne emerged as a means of identifying individuals within communities. It was particularly prevalent in regions such as Wessex and Mercia, where Old English dialects were widely spoken. Over time, the name evolved to adopt various spellings, including Twain, Twayn, and Twayne.
In medieval literature, several characters bearing the name Twayne can be found. For instance, in the 14th-century poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," a character named Twayne is mentioned as one of King Arthur's knights. This reference suggests that the name held a degree of prestige and was associated with chivalry and nobility during that era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Twayne was Twayne of Gloucester, a 12th-century English nobleman who served as a knight and castellan of Gloucester Castle. His legacy is chronicled in the historical records of the time, shedding light on the usage of the name among the aristocracy.
In the 16th century, Twayne Stephens, an English playwright and poet, gained recognition for his contributions to the Elizabethan theater. His plays, though largely lost to time, were performed at the famous Globe Theatre and celebrated for their wit and social commentary.
Another notable figure was Twayne Wycliffe, a 17th-century English theologian and scholar who played a pivotal role in the translation of the Bible into the vernacular language. His efforts were instrumental in making the scriptures accessible to a broader audience, furthering the spread of literacy and religious education.
In the realm of exploration, Twayne Cartwright, an 18th-century English navigator, achieved fame for his voyages to the South Pacific and his detailed accounts of the islands and cultures he encountered. His journals were widely read and contributed to the expanding knowledge of the world during the Age of Enlightenment.
Finally, Twayne Harrington, a 19th-century American author and journalist, left a lasting impact on the literary landscape with his insightful social commentary and critiques of contemporary issues. His works shed light on the sociopolitical climate of the time and advocated for progressive reforms.
People
Twayne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Twayne 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
Twayne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Twayne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Twayne 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Twayne a common name?
We classify Twayne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Twayne most popular?
The single biggest year for Twayne was 1974, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Twayne is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Twayne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 105 people with the name Twayne, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,717 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 Twayne 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 Twayne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Twayne leans strongly male. 100 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 10 female bearers (9.1%). 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 Twayne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Twayne is Black at 77.1%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Twayne most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Twayne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.1% (81 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 Twayne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Twayne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Twayne 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 Twayne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Twayne 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 Twayne 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 people are called Twayne?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.