Tenzin
Masculine · “holder of the teachings”
Tenzin is given to both — 1,653 boys and 1,253 girls since 1880. See Tenzin as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Tenzin is the holder of the teachings in Tibetan — and it is part of the Dalai Lama's own name, Tenzin Gyatso.
How old is the name Tenzin?
Tenzin first appears in US birth records in 1992 — 33 years ago. The typical Tenzin is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,600 people named Tenzin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tenzin most popular?
Tenzin peaked in 2014, reaching #1751 nationally. Today it ranks #2230, 479 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From bstan 'dzin to Tenzin
The story of Tenzin
Tenzin Gyatso is the personal name of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, and the element has been given widely in Tibetan communities since. The name is used for both sexes. Tibetan exile communities carried it worldwide, and it appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
holder of the teachings
From the Tibetan bstan 'dzin — bstan, 'doctrine' or 'teaching', and 'dzin, 'to hold'. It renders the Sanskrit dharmadhara. The fourteenth Dalai Lama's ordination name is Tenzin Gyatso. The Tibetan is documented and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- bstan 'dzin
- Tenzin
Related forms: བསྟན་འཛིན · Tenzing
Pronouncing Tenzin
TEN-zin
Two syllables, stress on the first. Tibetan orthography is far removed from the sound.
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
- 1992
- Most boys named
- 201486 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1751reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%63 in 2025, from 63
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 boy in 27,112 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 Larnell 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: Larnell climbed just as high around 1957, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Larnell'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 boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The holder-of-the-teachings meaning is dignified and transparent.
- The Dalai Lama carries it, which is real weight.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It is used for both sexes in Tibetan communities.
- It reads as specifically Tibetan Buddhist.
- Tenzing with a g is the commoner spelling for the mountaineer.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Tenzin to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Tenzin
Masculine · #2230 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 1,600 people named Tenzin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tenzin in 2025?
- Tenzin ranks #2230 among US boy names in 2025, with 63 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tenzin?
- About 1 in every 27,112 US boys born in 2025 was named Tenzin — 63 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.
Rayaan#2230 · Tyce#2230 · Earl#2230 · Gene#2230 · Sylis#2230 · Vinny#2230 · Klaus#2230 · Damoni#2230
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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