Tenzin
Feminine · “holder of the teachings”
Tenzin is given to both — 1,253 girls and 1,653 boys since 1880. See Tenzin as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Tenzin is a Tibetan name meaning holder of the teachings, and it is the personal name of the fourteenth Dalai Lama.
How old is the name Tenzin?
Tenzin first appears in US birth records in 1996 — 29 years ago. The typical Tenzin is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,200 people named Tenzin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tenzin most popular?
Tenzin peaked in 2023, reaching #2646 nationally. Today it ranks #3975, 1,329 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From bstan 'dzin to Tenzin
The story of Tenzin
Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the fourteenth Dalai Lama as a small child and has carried the name since. Tibetan naming is largely religious in vocabulary and names are frequently given by a lama rather than by parents, which is why the same names recur so widely. Tenzin is very common among Tibetans and reaches American records with Tibetan and Himalayan families.
Meaning
holder of the teachings
From Tibetan bstan, the doctrine or teachings, and 'dzin, to hold or maintain; the compound describes someone who keeps and upholds the dharma. It is used for both men and women.
How the name formed
- bstan 'dzin
- Tenzin
Related forms: བསྟན་འཛིན · Tenzing
Pronouncing Tenzin
TEN-zin
Two syllables, first stressed. Tibetan gives both syllables even weight.
Nicknames for Tenzin
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
- 1996
- Most girls named
- 202366 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2646reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −28.0%36 in 2025, from 50
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.
Tenzin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- བསྟན་འཛིན in Tibetan — transliteration
- Tenzing in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Minnesota, California.
Tenzins among us
people named Tenzin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 44,646 born in 2025 was named Tenzin
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 Megann test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tenzin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Megann climbed just as high around 1988, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Megann's path sketches the road Tenzin is walking now.
Tenzin 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
Where Tenzin is headed
Tenzin should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Tenzin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tenzin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a clear and serious sense behind it.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Read correctly on sight by most English speakers.
- It is used for both sexes in Tibetan, so forms may guess wrong.
- The Dalai Lama is the first association for most people outside the community.
- Tenzin and Tenzing are both used and the second is a separate transliteration.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tenzin
Feminine · #3975 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tenzins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Tenzin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tenzin in 2025?
- Tenzin ranks #3975 among US girl names in 2025, with 36 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tenzin?
- About 1 in every 44,646 US girls born in 2025 was named Tenzin — 36 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tenzin with classmates?
- Tenzin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tenzin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rubie#3975 · Bradley#3975 · Jodi#3975 · An#3975 · Ilianna#3975 · Saja#3975 · Ansleigh#3975 · Dorcas#3975
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tenzin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tenzin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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