2000
#12,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,215
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Tanis
Of Greek origin, referring to a person from the ancient city of Tanis in Egypt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,187 Americans carry the last name Tanis. That puts it at #10,948 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,548 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tanis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 107,548
Census rank
#10,948
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,779 bearers of the surname Tanis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10948th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tanis
The surname Tanis is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, with its earliest known references dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to derive from the Dutch word "tanne," meaning a fir tree or pine tree, suggesting that the original bearers of this surname may have lived near a dense forest or worked with timber.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Tanis surname appears in a Dutch census record from the city of Amsterdam in 1587, where a man named Pieter Tanis is listed as a resident. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the Netherlands by the late 16th century.
During the 17th century, the Tanis surname began to spread beyond the Netherlands as Dutch settlers and traders ventured to other parts of the world, including the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) and the Dutch colonies in North America, such as New Amsterdam (later renamed New York).
In the United States, the Tanis surname can be traced back to the early 17th century, when Dutch settlers arrived in the New Netherland colony. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is Johannes Tanis, who was born in 1650 in New Amsterdam.
Another notable figure bearing the Tanis surname was Jacob Tanis, a Dutch sailor and explorer who accompanied Willem Blaeu on his voyage to the East Indies in the early 1600s. Tanis played a crucial role in mapping the coastlines of various islands in the region, and his contributions were recognized in the naming of several geographical features, such as Tanis Island in modern-day Indonesia.
In the 19th century, the Tanis surname gained prominence in the field of archaeology with the discoveries of French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. In 1866, Mariette uncovered the remains of the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis, which is believed to have been the capital of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties. Although the city's name is not directly related to the surname, the association between the two has added an intriguing layer to the history of the Tanis name.
Other notable individuals with the Tanis surname include Hendrik Tanis (1771-1841), a Dutch painter known for his landscapes and seascapes, and Cornelis Tanis (1836-1900), a Dutch politician who served as the mayor of Rotterdam in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanis
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tanis bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tanis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 1,970
- Black or African American21.6% · 599
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 94
- Two or more races3.4% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tanis
Tanis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,010
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
+144 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 230 places
2020
#10,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,779
+420 bearers (+17.8%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 2,062 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,780 | 2,215 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,010 | 2,359 | 0.80 | +144 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 230 places |
| 2020 | #10,948 | 2,779 | 0.93 | +420 bearers (+17.8%) | Up 2,062 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tanis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,010 | #10,948 | 15.8% |
| Count | 2,359 | 2,779 | 17.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.93 | 16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tanis bearers went from 2,359 to 2,779 (+17.8% change). The surname moved up 2,062 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,010 to #10,948.
FAQ
Tanis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tanis?
Name Census estimates that about 3,187 living Americans carry the surname Tanis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,548 residents.
How common is Tanis?
Tanis ranks #10,948 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,779 people with the surname Tanis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,187), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Tanis.
Has Tanis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tanis went from 2,359 recorded bearers to 2,779. That is an increase of 420 (+17.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,010 to #10,948.
What does the Census say about the background of Tanis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tanis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (1,970 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tanis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.9%), Black (21.6%), Hispanic (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tanis (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tanis mean?
Of Greek origin, referring to a person from the ancient city of Tanis in Egypt. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tanis (0.93 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Tanis?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Tanis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.