ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 2002 First Year 2026 Last Year 2010 Peak Year #680 Peak Rank 3K Total Count 23 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Taraji What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress, producer, author, and mental health advocate. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraji%5FP.%5FHenson) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraji%5FP.%5FHenson) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Taraji](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/TarajiPHenson-byPhilipRomano.jpg/330px-TarajiPHenson-byPhilipRomano.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraji%5FP.%5FHenson) 📖 ## The Story of Taraji Taraji first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 2002, with 9 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2010: 423 births, good for #680 nationwide. About 76% of every Taraji on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Taraji ranks #5,344 for baby girls with 24 births, falling sharply (-60%). All told, over 3K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2000s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Taraji Phonetically similar names — useful when Taraji is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Taraki * Trochee * Terai * [Torchy](/torchy) * [Taurasi](/taurasi) * Tragi * Tardy * Trashy * Tare * Tarty * [Trai](/trai) * Targe Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Taraji What does the name Taraji mean? Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress, producer, author, and mental health advocate. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential people in the world. How popular is Taraji in 2026? In 2026, Taraji ranks #5,344 among girls' names in the U.S., with 24 babies given the name that year. When was Taraji most popular? Taraji reached its peak popularity in 2010, ranking #680 that year with 423 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Taraji most popular? Taraji has historically been most popular in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Taraji. Is Taraji a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Taraji is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Taraji? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Taraji include Doretha, Inaya, Neppie. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧DorethaPeak #680](/doretha)[👧InayaPeak #680](/inaya)[👧NeppiePeak #679](/neppie)[👧CammiePeak #679](/cammie)[👧LilliaPeak #679](/lillia)[👧ZillahPeak #679](/zillah)[👧TresaPeak #679](/tresa)[👧ChristenePeak #681](/christene) ## About the name Taraji Taraji is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2002 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Taraji's peak popularity came in 2010 when it ranked #680\. Use the chart and map above to compare Taraji's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2010 → ](/year/2010) * [ Names of the 2010s → ](/decade/2010s) * [ Names starting with "T" → ](/letter/t) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.