Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2011

Tenley

Meaning From Tineley in Northumberland or Teenley in West Yorkshire Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,481 Trend ↓ Falling 67%

From Tineley in Northumberland or Teenley in West Yorkshire.

Rank 2025
#2,481
among girls · ↓348 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
72
named Tenley · -20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 22,323
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2011
736 babies
All-time total
6,859
#2,095 all-time among girls
First recorded
1953
in Social Security records

Tenley popularity over time

6,859 babies have been named Tenley since 1953, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 91 – 91 9 – #2,243
1960s 93 – 93 9 +2% #2,804
1970s 60 – 60 6 -35% #5,072
1980s 117 – 117 12 +95% #3,404
1990s 117 – 117 12 0% #6,236
2000s 521 – 521 52 +345% #2,201
2010s 4,978 5 4,983 498 +856% #425
2020s (to 2025) 877 – 877 146 -71% #1,054

Where Tenley is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 60 0.04 outside top 500
2027 51 0.03 outside top 500
2028 44 0.03 outside top 500
2029 40 0.02 outside top 500
2030 36 0.02 outside top 500

Where Tenley is most popular

Girls named Tenley per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.079 per 1,000. Strongest in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Tenley born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
South Dakota 6 0.420 +433%
Minnesota 32 0.297 +276%
Wisconsin 28 0.272 +245%
Iowa 15 0.257 +225%
Massachusetts 19 0.157 +99%
Pennsylvania 25 0.106 +34%
Ohio 25 0.105 +34%
Oregon 6 0.092 +17%
Colorado 10 0.090 +14%
Michigan 16 0.088 +11%
Maryland 8 0.075 ≈ national
North Carolina 16 0.070 -11%
Washington 10 0.069 -12%
Tennessee 9 0.057 -28%
Texas 37 0.046 -42%
California 35 0.042 -47%
Florida 16 0.037 -53%
Arizona 5 0.036 -55%
New York 8 0.020 -74%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Tenley

Tenley is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,481 in 2025 with 72 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1953, 6,859 American babies have been named Tenley. Its peak came in 2011, when 736 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Tenley stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Tenley?

The median living Tenley is about 12 years old; half are between 8 and 14. An estimated 6,800 people named Tenley are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Tenley year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 72 #2,481 – –
2024 90 #2,133 – –
2023 117 #1,760 – –
2022 173 #1,354 – –
2021 188 #1,255 – –
2020 237 #1,054 – –
2019 279 #949 – –
2018 361 #755 5 #13,882
2017 376 #749 – –
2016 569 #549 – –
2015 427 #671 – –
2014 458 #626 – –
2013 517 #563 – –
2012 583 #522 – –
2011 736 #425 – –
2010 672 #460 – –
2009 60 #2,933 – –
2008 67 #2,750 – –
2007 54 #3,211 – –
2006 58 #2,975 – –
2005 58 #2,861 – –
2004 64 #2,619 – –
2003 79 #2,201 – –
2002 59 #2,638 – –
2001 13 #8,155 – –
2000 9 #10,674 – –
1995 11 #8,034 – –
1990 8 #10,118 – –
1985 7 #9,215 – –
1980 25 #3,404 – –
1975 7 #7,901 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 12 #3,930 – –
1960 18 #2,979 – –
1955 11 #3,761 – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Tenley

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Tenley Albright Tenley Albright American figure skater (born 1935) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Tenley, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Tenley?

The median living Tenley is about 12 years old. Half of all living Tenleys are between 8 and 14 years old.

How many people named Tenley are alive today?

An estimated 6,800 people named Tenley are alive in the United States, based on 6,859 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Tenley mean?

From Tineley in Northumberland or Teenley in West Yorkshire.

How popular is the name Tenley in 2025?

Tenley ranked #2,481 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 72 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Tenley?

6,859 babies have been named Tenley in the United States since 1953, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Tenley most popular?

Tenley peaked in 2011, when 736 newborns received the name.

Is Tenley a boy or girl name?

Tenley is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Tenley rising or falling?

Tenley is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Tenley become more popular?

Tenley is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 36 girls named Tenley in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Tenley?

Well-known people named Tenley include Tenley Albright (skater).

Names like Tenley

Names that sound and feel close to Tenley: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Tenley with similar names → More names starting with T →