Tiana

About Tiana

Tiana can shorten Tatiana or Christiana, giving it more than one European name history. Separately, Malagasy tiana means “beloved.” The name is especially familiar through Disney's The Princess and the Frog, whose heroine dreams of opening a restaurant in New Orleans.

More than one origin

As a short form of Tatiana, Tiana belongs to the Roman family of Tatianus and Tatius. Tatius has an uncertain meaning and may be of Sabine origin.

Through Christiana, it belongs to the Christian family, from Latin Christianus, meaning “a Christian.” These routes explain why the English name does not have a single translation that applies to every use.

Malagasy use has a separate connection with the word tiana, “loved” or “beloved.” That meaning belongs to the language of Madagascar rather than the Roman family behind Tatiana.

Tianna is a related English spelling. In English, Tiana is commonly tee-AH-nuh, with stress on the middle syllable; tee-AN-uh is also used. Its open vowels give the three syllables a flowing sound.

Disney's Tiana

The Princess and the Frog was released in December 2009. Anika Noni Rose voices Tiana, a young woman whose ambitions center on opening her own New Orleans restaurant.

Tiana's father has inspired her love of cooking and belief in working toward a goal. The story gives that practical ambition a fantastical complication when a kiss with a frog prince leads her into an adventure through Louisiana's bayous.

Prince Naveen, visiting from the fictional country of Maldonia, is drawn to New Orleans through its jazz. The meeting of his carefree approach and Tiana's determined work provides one of the story's central contrasts.

A firefly and an alligator join the adventure. Tiana's journey asks her to reconsider the relationship between what she wants and what she needs, keeping friendship and love alongside her ambition.

Tiana’s story continued in the theme-park attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which opened at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on June 28, 2024. Music from New Orleans and a soundtrack released by Walt Disney Records extended the character’s connection with the city beyond the original film.

An established name before the film

Tiana was already in regular American use before Disney introduced its heroine. Its strongest United States ranking for girls came in 1995, at #268, and its largest published annual count followed in 1998, with 1,028 births.

That timing places the name's American high more than a decade before the film's release. The character renewed its visibility without beginning its naming history.

There were 887 girls named Tiana in 2000 and 970 in 2010, the year after the movie appeared. In 2025, 491 girls received the name, ranking #598.

The figures describe Tiana separately from Tianna and the longer names Tatiana and Christiana, each of which has its own pattern of use.

How popular is Tiana?

In 2025, Tiana ranked #598 among girls in the United States, with 491 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1950; its largest annual count was 1,028 in 1998. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.