Tenna
Feminine
Tenna is a short, bright two-syllable name, rare in America. It sounds like the end of antenna, a word with a surprising history of its own.
How old is the name Tenna?
Tenna first appears in US birth records in 1902 — 123 years ago. The typical Tenna alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 500 people named Tenna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tenna most popular?
Tenna peaked in 1902, reaching #1594 nationally. See the whole 1902 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Tenna
In Latin an antenna was the long yard from which a ship's sail hung. When Renaissance scholars translated Aristotle's word for an insect's feelers, they chose antennae, because the feelers stuck out like yards on a mast, and in the age of radio the word moved again to the wires that catch signals from the air. Tenna has no known tie to any of it, but its sound carries that little voyage of a word from ships to insects to radios.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source records the origin of Tenna as an American name. It may be a short form or a build near Jenna and Tina, and no record says which.
Pronouncing Tenna
TEN-uh
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
Nicknames for Tenna
Limited
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
- 1902
- Most girls named
- 196133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1594reached in 1902
- Change vs 1990
- −14.3%6 in 1993, from 7
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.
Tennas among us
people named Tenna 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
Tenna 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 and easy to say.
- It is almost certainly unique among the people she will meet.
- People will hear Jenna or Tina and spell it accordingly.
- There is no recorded meaning to give when someone asks.
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Tenna
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Tennas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Tenna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tenna in 2025?
- Tenna is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Tenna with classmates?
- Tenna 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 Tenna? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tenna and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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