Tehani
Feminine · “Beloved”
Tehani is Tahitian, and its American record has a film attached: Mutiny on the Bounty was remade in 1962 with a Tahitian character called Tehani, and the name enters American data after it. The word itself means a beloved.
How old is the name Tehani?
Tehani first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Tehani alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 600 people named Tehani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tehani most popular?
Tehani peaked in 2002, reaching #4906 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 648 places below that high. See the whole 2002 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Tehani
The Bounty story has been filmed several times, and the 1962 version with Marlon Brando gave Fletcher Christian a Tahitian companion named Tehani, played by Tarita Teriipaia, who afterwards married Brando. The novel by Nordhoff and Hall had used the name earlier. That is the route by which Tehani reached English-speaking audiences; the name is also used in Tahiti and in Polynesian communities, and Hawaiian and Tahitian names have circulated in American naming since the 1960s more generally. The American peak in 2002 is modest and sits well after the film, which suggests the name arrived through the general Polynesian-name fashion rather than directly.
Meaningscholars disagree
Beloved, sweetheart
Tahitian tehani is generally given as darling or sweetheart, and the reading is standard in popular sources; the Polynesian languages have a well-documented vocabulary and the word is genuine, though its use as a traditional personal name is less clearly attested than the gloss suggests. Related Polynesian forms with the same sense exist in Hawaiian and Marquesan.
Pronouncing Tehani
teh-HAH-nee
Three syllables, all open, stress in the middle. Tahitian gives each vowel a full value and the h is fully sounded.
Nicknames for Tehani
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
- 1971
- Most girls named
- 200626 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4906reached in 2002
- Change vs 2024
- +46.7%22 in 2025, from 15
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.
Tehani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tehani in Tahitian — same name
- Kehani in Hawaiian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Hawaii.
Tehanis among us
people named Tehani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Tehani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mikael test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tehani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mikael climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mikael's path sketches the road Tehani is walking now.
Tehani sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Tehani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tehani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is warm and easy to explain.
- Six letters and three open syllables are easy to say.
- Every sound in it exists in English.
- The traditional use of the word as a personal name is less well attested than the gloss.
- It is unfamiliar in the United States and will be spelled out.
- It is closely associated with one film and one island in American ears.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Tehani to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Tehani? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tehani
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tehanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Tehani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tehani in 2025?
- Tehani ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tehani?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Tehani — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tehani with classmates?
- Tehani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tehani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Phebe#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tehani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tehani and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle