Tyshea
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a combination of other names.
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Tyshea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tyshea today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tyshea births was 1997 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tyshea. 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
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
1997
13 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2003 SSA rank
#11,280
Tracked since 1978
Census
Tyshea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 138 people with the first name Tyshea, which placed it at #47,373 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
#47,373
National first-name rank
People counted
138
138 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tyshea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyshea is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Tyshea 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 Tyshea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.5% · 129
- White3.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 2
Popularity
Tyshea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tyshea from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 81 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Tyshea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tyshea 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 Tyshea 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 Tyshea
The name Tyshea is thought to have its roots in the African Yoruba language, originating from the region of West Africa in the 15th century. It is believed to be a combination of the words "tiya" meaning "precious" and "shea" referring to the shea tree, whose nuts were highly valued for their oil and butter.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Tyshea can be found in a 16th-century manuscript detailing the history and traditions of the Yoruba people. This ancient text describes a legendary princess named Tyshea, who was renowned for her beauty, wisdom, and her ability to bring peace and prosperity to her kingdom.
Throughout the centuries, the name Tyshea has been carried by various notable figures. One such individual was Tyshea Adebola, a powerful 18th-century Yoruba warrior queen who led her army to victory against invading forces, protecting her people's land and culture.
Another prominent figure was Tyshea Adekunle, a 19th-century Yoruba scholar and educator who established one of the first schools in her region, dedicated to preserving traditional knowledge and promoting literacy among her people.
In the realm of literature, Tyshea Oluwole was a renowned 20th-century Yoruba poet and author, whose works celebrated the rich cultural heritage of her ancestors and explored themes of identity, spirituality, and the human experience.
Moving into the modern era, Tyshea Akinwande was a pioneering Nigerian businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded a successful import-export company in the 1960s, paving the way for future generations of African women in the business world.
Throughout its long history, the name Tyshea has carried a sense of strength, resilience, and a deep connection to the rich cultural traditions of the Yoruba people. Its meaning and significance have endured over the centuries, serving as a testament to the enduring legacy of this ancient African civilization.
People
Tyshea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tyshea 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
Tyshea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tyshea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tyshea 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Tyshea a common name?
We classify Tyshea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tyshea most popular?
The single biggest year for Tyshea was 1997, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tyshea is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tyshea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 138 people with the name Tyshea, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,373 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 Tyshea 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 Tyshea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tyshea appears almost entirely female. Of the 141 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Tyshea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyshea is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Tyshea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tyshea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (129 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 Tyshea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tyshea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tyshea 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 Tyshea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tyshea 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 Tyshea 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 named Tyshea?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.