Tennille vs Tensley
American parents have registered 2,199 Tennilles since 1880, against 295 Tensleys. But in 2025 it was Tensley that was commoner, 9 babies to 5.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Tennille Tensley
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 46 years in which either name was published, Tennille for 31 years and Tensley for 15 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Tennille | Tensley | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,199 | 295 |
| Most in one year | 777 | 34 |
| Babies in 2025 | 5 | 9 |
| Estimated living today | 2,100 | 290 |
| Median age today | 48 | 9 |
| Peak year | 1976 | 2011 |
| Best rank | 300th girls | 4,244th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 14,942nd | 10,107th |
| First recorded | 1975 | 2010 |
| Girls / boys | 2,184 / 15 | 295 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Tennilles alive today are over 48; half the Tensleys are over 9. That is 39 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Tennille and Tensley.