Tanis
Feminine
Tanis is given to both — 994 girls and 535 boys since 1880. See Tanis as a boy nameSee other names given to both
The richest royal tombs found in Egypt after Tutankhamun were found at Tanis, in 1939, and almost nobody heard about them. A French archaeologist opened intact burials full of silver coffins and gold masks in the spring, and by the autumn Europe was at war and the news went nowhere.
How old is the name Tanis?
Tanis first appears in US birth records in 1935 — 90 years ago. The typical Tanis alive today was born around 1968, making them about 57 years old. About 900 people named Tanis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tanis most popular?
Tanis peaked in 1948, reaching #1499 nationally. See the whole 1948 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From an Egyptian delta city called Djanet to Tanis
The story of Tanis
The tombs contained the mummies of pharaohs of the dynasties that ruled from the delta after the New Kingdom collapsed — men whose names almost nobody knows, buried in solid silver coffins with gold masks that stand comparison with the famous one. They had been overlooked because the site is unglamorous, half under water, and produced nothing readable for decades. The excavation resumed after the war and the finds are in Cairo, in cases that visitors walk past on their way to the boy king.
Meaningnot established
Not established
As an American name this is likely to be a short form of Anastasia or Titania, or an assembly, and no reference work carries it. The Egyptian city is unrelated and reaches the same letters through Greek: the Egyptians called it Djanet, the Bible calls it Zoan, and Tanis is what the Greeks made of it. The city's own name means something like the marshy place.
How the name formed
- an Egyptian delta city called Djanet
- Greek renders the name as Tanis
- royal tombs found intact in 1939
- the discovery is buried by the outbreak of war
- Tanis appears in the American record in the 1930s
Related forms: Tanis · Tanith
Pronouncing Tanis
TAN-iss
Two syllables, stress at the front. Some families say TAY-niss, which the spelling permits and which sounds like a different name.
Nicknames for Tanis
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1935
- Most girls named
- 194838 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1499reached in 1948
- Change vs 2021
- +20.0%6 in 2024, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Tanis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tanis in Greek — same name
- Tanith in English — related form
Taniss among us
people named Tanis are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Tanis sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, unusual and read correctly at sight once the vowel is settled.
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- The Egyptian city behind it is genuinely interesting and almost unknown.
- The first vowel is read two ways and she will hear both.
- There is no established origin for the American name.
- It is closely dated to the middle of the last century.
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What they receive
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Tanis
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Taniss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Tanis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tanis in 2025?
- Tanis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Tanis with classmates?
- Tanis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tanis? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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