Tennille
Feminine
Tennille is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 2,184 girls against 15 boys since 1880.
Tennille is a surname that became a first name almost overnight. A performing duo put it in front of a very large American audience in the mid-1970s, and the registers respond within a year.
How old is the name Tennille?
Tennille first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Tennille alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 2,100 people named Tennille are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tennille most popular?
Tennille peaked in 1976, reaching #300 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 14,642 places below that high. See the whole 1976 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Tennille
Our story of Tennille begins on a chart of a different kind. A recording duo took its name from the surname of one of its members, had a run of very large hits from 1975, and for a few years that surname was in every American living room. Parents heard it as a name — three syllables, a soft ending, nothing to explain — and it went onto certificates in real numbers. It rose sharply, peaked before the decade was out, and settled into quiet continuous use.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No established meaning. The surname's own origin is uncertain — a French or Spanish source has been proposed, and there is a place called Tennille in Georgia. Neither is documented as the root. As a given name it is best understood as borrowed for its sound from a person who bore the surname.
Pronouncing Tennille
tuh-NEEL
Two syllables, stress on the second. The double l does no audible work.
Nicknames for Tennille
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
- 1975
- Most girls named
- 1976769 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #300reached in 1976
- Change vs 2024
- −28.6%5 in 2025, 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.
Tennille in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tenille in English — spelling variant
- Teneal in English — spelling variant
Tennilles among us
people named Tennille are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Tennille
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 Jeri test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tennille's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jeri climbed just as high around 1956, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jeri's path sketches the road Tennille is walking now.
Tennille 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
Tennille beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tennille in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The end stress is uncommon in English and gives the name a distinct rhythm.
- It is instantly readable while remaining genuinely uncommon.
- It has a precisely datable origin, which very few names can offer.
- It has no recovered meaning to offer.
- Several spellings are in use, so the written form has to be given.
- It is tightly dated to the second half of the 1970s.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Tennille 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 Tennille? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tennille
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tennilles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Tennille are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tennille in 2025?
- Tennille ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tennille?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Tennille — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tennille with classmates?
- Tennille will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tennille
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tennille? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tennille 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