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Tenley

#2,481 in 2025Girls' name

Possibly point + woodland, clearing

Tenley has been given to 6,859 babies in the U.S. since 1953. In 2025 it ranked #2,481 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2011, with 736 recorded.

Babies named Tenley, 2025

1 in 46,000

Tenley over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Tenley: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly point + woodland, clearing

surname transfer

What Tenley means

Tenley may mean “point + woodland, clearing”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Tineley in Northumberland or Teenley in West Yorkshire.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Tenley (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Tenley is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Tenley is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 6,854 girls were recorded with the name Tenley between 1953 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 736 in 2011; its best national rank was #425 in 2011.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,054 in 2020 to #2,481 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #671 in 2015 to #2,481 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 boys were recorded with the name Tenley between 2018 and 2018. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2018; its best national rank was #13,876 in 2018.

How common is Tenley?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 46,000
72 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 22,300
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,481
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
31,916 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tenley sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 31,916 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tenley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tenleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tenley was born before 2013 — so the typical Tenley is around 12 today.

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
72.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
92.9%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
6,854
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 72.6% of all recorded uses (4,978).

Is Tenley rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−348
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,427
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,810
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.17×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
9.8%
Peak was 2011 (736)
Years since peak
14
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
66.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#425
2011

Spellings of Tenley

Tenley is not the most common spelling — Kelley is, with 21.9% against Tenley's 3.3%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Tenley is used

Across 2016–2025, Tenley was most concentrated in North Dakota — about 1 in 758 girls, against 1 in 6,763 across all states with data. It was least common in Connecticut (1 in 25,000).

4132 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1North Dakota1 in 758
  2. 2South Dakota1 in 909
  3. 3Minnesota1 in 1,667
  4. 4Wisconsin1 in 1,667
  5. 5Nebraska1 in 2,000
  6. 6Iowa1 in 2,174
  7. 7Kansas1 in 3,226
  8. 8New Hampshire1 in 3,571

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Tenley around the world

Where Tenley ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • Canada
    2003–2024
    #1,469
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2003–2003
    #739
    in 2003

Popularity data from Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Tenley

People whose public names include Tenley, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Tenley by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,481
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,427
Best rank ever
#425
2011
Peak year
2011
736 that year
First recorded
1953
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
6,854
Count in 2025
72

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#13,876
2018
Peak year
2018
5 that year
First recorded
2018
Last recorded
2018
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Tenley

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TensleyHenleyKeeleyBrileyKenleyKarleyKayleyTennleyHolleyTenaTenzinHalleyAnsleyCaileyEnsleyTinleyWesleyBexleyOakleyAdleyWrenleyTennieCarleyWhitley

Names with a curve like Tenley

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Tenley, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ElinMilaniaBrayleeTemperanceEmmalynGiulianaJaylahNahlaJordynnKinleeKynleePaityn

Sibling names for Tenley

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Tenley

Top names of 2011, Tenley's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2011Girls' names starting with T