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Tennessee

#4,973 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ; literal meaning unconfirmed

Tennessee has been given to 1,367 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #4,973 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 39 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 72% girls, 28% boys all-time.

Babies named Tennessee, 2025

1 in 123,000

Tennessee over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
01020304018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Tennessee over time

In 2025, Tennessee went to 71% girls and 29% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Tennessee: meaning, origin, and history

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ; literal meaning unconfirmed

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Tennessee means

Tennessee is a given name.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Tennessee is used in English.

Tennessee comes through Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Tennessee is pronounced /ˌtɛnəˈsiː/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 986 girls were recorded with the name Tennessee between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 39 in 2021; its best national rank was #579 in 1884.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #5,829 in 2020 to #4,973 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #5,111 in 2015 to #4,973 in 2025.

In the United States, 381 boys were recorded with the name Tennessee between 1995 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 28 in 2015; its best national rank was #3,867 in 2015.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #5,424 in 2020 to #7,626 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,867 in 2015 to #7,626 in 2025.

How common is Tennessee?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 123,000
27 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 59,500
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#4,973
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
85,108 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tennessee 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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 85,108 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tennessee. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tennessees were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tennessee was born before 1995 — so the typical Tennessee is around 30 today.

Median birth year
1995
About 30 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
23.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
46.5%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
501
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 23.1% of all recorded uses (228).

Is Tennessee 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
+1,164
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+856
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+138
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.00×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
69.2%
Peak was 2021 (39)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
25.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#579
1884

Where Tennessee is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Tennessee was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 741,433 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Florida1 in —
  3. 3Oklahoma1 in —
  4. 4Tennessee1 in —
  5. 5Texas1 in —

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. Tennessee has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Tennessee is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Tennessee was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 990,756 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Missouri1 in —
  3. 3Utah1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys 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. Tennessee has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Tennessee around the world

Where Tennessee 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.

  • England & Wales
    2009–2025
    #3,035
    in 2025
  • France
    1986–2025
    #4,177
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2018–2022
    #2,577
    in 2022
  • South Australia
    1978–2012
    #871
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Tennessee by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#4,973
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 856
Best rank ever
#579
1884
Peak year
2021
39 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
986
Count in 2025
27

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,626
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 2,202
Best rank ever
#3,867
2015
Peak year
2015
28 that year
First recorded
1995
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
381
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Tennessee

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

TennilleTennysonTenleighTenzinTeneshiaTensleyTenilleTeneishaTeneshaTeniolaTenayaTenikaTeneciaTenishiaTenishaTenekaTenleyTennleyTeniaTeniyahTenesiaTennieChelseeTenise

Sibling names for Tennessee

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 Tennessee

Top names of 2021, Tennessee's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1884Girls' names starting with T