Tynan
Irish masculine name meaning "fair" or "attractive".
Name Census estimates that about 710 living Americans carry the first name Tynan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tynan today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tynan births was 1994 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tynan. 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
710
~ 1 in 482,753 Americans
Peak year
1994
38 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,187
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Tynan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tynan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 260 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tynan 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 Tynan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tynans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tynan
The given name Tynan is a relatively modern variation of the Irish name Tynagh, which originated in Ireland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Gaelic words "tigh" meaning house and "nach" meaning warrior or fighter, essentially translating to "house defender" or "protector of the homestead".
The earliest recorded usage of the name Tynan dates back to the 12th century in County Galway, Ireland. It was particularly popular among Irish families with strong ties to their ancestral lands and a history of defending their homes and territories. Over time, various spellings emerged, including Tynagh, Tynane, and Tynan, with the latter becoming more prevalent in the 19th and 20th centuries.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Tynan was Sir David Tynan, a 14th-century Irish knight who fought alongside King Edward III of England during the Hundred Years' War against France. He was renowned for his bravery and military prowess on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, Father Edmund Tynan was a prominent Catholic priest who played a pivotal role in preserving Irish literary traditions during the Tudor Conquest of Ireland. He was known for his efforts in transcribing and preserving ancient Irish manuscripts and historical records.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Myles Tynan emerged as a notable figure, leading a group of Irish rebels against English forces in County Westmeath. Despite ultimately being captured and executed, he became a symbol of resistance against English rule in Ireland.
In the 19th century, Patrick Tynan (1829-1899) was an Irish author and journalist who wrote extensively about Irish culture, history, and social issues. His works, such as "The Irish Language Miscellany" and "The Irish National Writers," were instrumental in promoting Irish literature and language preservation.
More recently, Kenneth Tynan (1927-1980) was a highly influential English theatre critic and writer. He gained notoriety for his controversial and provocative critiques, as well as his advocacy for freedom of expression in the arts. His influential works include "Tynan Right and Left" and "The Autobiography of a View."
People
Tynan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tynan 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
Tynan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tynan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 710 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tynan 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 482,753 US residents.
Is Tynan a common name?
We classify Tynan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 725 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tynan most popular?
The single biggest year for Tynan was 1994, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tynan is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tynan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tynan 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.