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Tennyson

#4,520 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Son of Tenney

Tennyson has been given to 1,586 babies in the U.S. since 1913. In 2025 it ranked #4,520 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2014, with 48 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 75% boys, 25% girls all-time.

Babies named Tennyson, 2025

1 in 144,000

Tennyson over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020406018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Tennyson went to 26% girls and 74% boys.

19132025

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.

Tennyson: meaning, origin, and history

Son of Tenney

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Tennyson means

Tennyson means “son of Tenney”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,188 boys were recorded with the name Tennyson between 1913 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 48 in 2014; its best national rank was #2,292 in 1915.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,260 in 2020 to #4,520 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,675 in 2015 to #4,520 in 2025.

In the United States, 398 girls were recorded with the name Tennyson between 2003 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 43 in 2017; its best national rank was #3,621 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #6,607 in 2020 to #11,829 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #6,013 in 2015 to #11,829 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Tennyson?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 144,000
23 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 74,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,520
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
99,910 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tennyson sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

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 99,910 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tennyson. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tennysons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tennyson was born before 2008 — so the typical Tennyson is around 17 today.

Median birth year
2008
About 17 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
33.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
63.4%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
989
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 33.8% of all recorded uses (401).

Is Tennyson 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
−635
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,260
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,845
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.50×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
47.9%
Peak was 2014 (48)
Years since peak
11
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
20.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,292
1915

Spellings of Tennyson

Tennyson is the most-used spelling, taking 61.0% of the 1,948 babies given a near-identical spelling.

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 Tennyson is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Tennyson was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 392,476 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Colorado1 in —
  3. 3North Carolina1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —
  5. 5Utah1 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. Tennyson has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Tennyson is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Tennyson was most concentrated in Colorado — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 429,093 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Colorado1 in 100,000
  2. 2Texas1 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. Tennyson has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Tennyson around the world

Where Tennyson 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
    2005–2025
    #5,137
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2011–2020
    #2,570
    in 2020
  • South Australia
    1973–2013
    #499
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Tennyson by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,520
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,260
Best rank ever
#2,292
1915
Peak year
2014
48 that year
First recorded
1913
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,188
Count in 2025
23

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,829
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 5,222
Best rank ever
#3,621
2017
Peak year
2017
43 that year
First recorded
2003
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
398
Count in 2025
8

Names similar to Tennyson

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

TennisonEricksonDavidsonJamiesonPetersonMorrisonDenilsonJaymesonTenzinJamersonTennesseeEmmersonGracesonThompsonBrycesonJettsonWoodsonRobinsonJefersonPearsonStevensonEversonGraesonCarlson

Sibling names for Tennyson

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 Tennyson

Top names of 2014, Tennyson's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1915Boys' names starting with TPoet Names