Tawny
Tawny, Tawni or Tawney is an English given name often given in reference to the color tawny, a pale orange-brown, or yellow-brown color. It is also sometimes a transferred use of the surname Tawney, which is derived from two Norman place names, Saint-Aubin-du-Thenney and Saint-Jean-du-Thenney.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Tawny
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Tawny, Tawni or Tawney is an English given name often given in reference to the color tawny, a pale orange-brown, or yellow-brown color. It is also sometimes a transferred use of the surname Tawney, which is derived from two Norman place names, Saint-Aubin-du-Thenney and Saint-Jean-du-Thenney.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Tawny
Tawny first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1947, with 9 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1989: 217 births, good for #859 nationwide. About 36% of every Tawny on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Tawny last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 4K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Tawny
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Tawny. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Tawny
Phonetically similar names — useful when Tawny is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tawny
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About the name Tawny
Tawny is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1947 and has accumulated 4K births in the dataset. Tawny's peak popularity came in 1989 when it ranked #859. Use the chart and map above to compare Tawny's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1989 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . 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 (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
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.