Tenaya
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- teh-NY-uh
- Origin
- Native American
Tenaya is a girls' name of Native American origin. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Tenaya mean?
Native American: from Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahneechee people
Honours Chief Tenaya, 19th-century leader of the Ahwahneechee people of Yosemite Valley; Tenaya Lake bears his name.
Is Tenaya a girl's or a boy's name?
Tenaya is a girls' name.
How popular is Tenaya in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1975, with 43 girls. It first appears in the records in 1971.
Half of all the girls named Tenaya in the US since 1880 were born between 1984 and 2007, the years shaded on the chart below.
Tenaya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | #13,472 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,192 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,225 |
| 2021 | 11 | #8,973 |
| 2020 | 15 | #7,208 |
| 2019 | 19 | #6,172 |
| 2018 | 11 | #9,146 |
| 2017 | 17 | #6,804 |
| 2016 | 16 | #7,227 |
| 2015 | 15 | #7,610 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,480 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,031 |
| 2012 | 11 | #9,706 |
| 2011 | 14 | #8,192 |
| 2010 | 13 | #8,697 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,338 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,277 |
| 2007 | 22 | #6,089 |
| 2006 | 19 | #6,590 |
| 2005 | 27 | #4,824 |
| 2004 | 29 | #4,597 |
| 2003 | 31 | #4,216 |
| 2002 | 27 | #4,494 |
| 2001 | 23 | #5,004 |
| 2000 | 34 | #3,733 |
| 1999 | 26 | #4,309 |
| 1998 | 24 | #4,489 |
| 1997 | 16 | #5,864 |
| 1996 | 27 | #3,937 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,513 |
| 1994 | 17 | #5,440 |
| 1993 | 20 | #4,820 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,082 |
| 1991 | 15 | #5,943 |
| 1990 | 24 | #4,115 |
| 1989 | 21 | #4,352 |
| 1988 | 24 | #3,800 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,307 |
| 1986 | 15 | #4,961 |
| 1985 | 17 | #4,453 |
| 1984 | 21 | #3,725 |
| 1983 | 24 | #3,339 |
| 1982 | 24 | #3,417 |
| 1981 | 21 | #3,738 |
| 1980 | 22 | #3,609 |
| 1979 | 23 | #3,442 |
| 1978 | 14 | #4,679 |
| 1977 | 21 | #3,485 |
| 1976 | 22 | #3,187 |
| 1975 | 43 | #2,023 |
| 1974 | 7 | #6,898 |
| 1973 | 9 | #5,578 |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 6 | #7,386 |
Names like Tenaya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aisha Anika Anaya Anya Sasha Maya Amaya Talia Chaya Samara Aya Aviva
Names related to Tenaya
More Native American names
Dakota Tallulah Nayeli Winona Kenai Cree Xochitl Xitlali Citlali Alaska Talulah Sequoia Denali Tennessee Dakoda Lakota
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Tenaya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/tenaya, updated 20 October 2026.