ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1923 First Year 2026 Last Year 1972 Peak Year #36 Peak Rank 120K Total Count 96 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Tonya What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Tonya is an English female given name. The name originated as a short form of Antonia with influence from the Spanish form Toña. It can be found throughout the English-speaking world but is most common in the United States. The popularity of the name has been influenced by its conflation with the unrelated name Tanya, which originated as a diminutive form of Tatiana. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya%5F%28given%5Fname%29) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * English * Russian 📖 ## The Story of Tonya American parents first put Tonya on the record books as a baby girl name in 1923, with 7 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1972, when 7,243 Tonyas were born — ranking #37 that year. About 48% of every Tonya on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Tonya ranks #7,596 for baby girls with 14 births, falling sharply (-28%). All told, over 120K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s 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 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Tonya Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Tonya. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Antonia](/antonia) * [Antonina](/antonina) * [Nia](/nia) * [Nina](/nina) * Ninochka * [Tawnya](/tawnya) * [Toni](/toni) * [Tonia](/tonia) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Tonya Phonetically similar names — useful when Tonya is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Tanya](/tanya) * [Tania](/tania) * [Donya](/donya) * [Danya](/danya) * [Tawnya](/tawnya) * [Tonja](/tonja) * [Tonga](/tonga) * Tinu * [Tawna](/tawna) * Tenue * [Dania](/dania) * [Dunya](/dunya) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Tonya What does the name Tonya mean? Tonya is an English female given name. The name originated as a short form of Antonia with influence from the Spanish form Toña. It can be found throughout the English-speaking world but is most common in the United States. The popularity of the name has been influenced by its conflation with the unrelated name Tanya, which originated as a diminutive form of Tatiana. What is the origin of the name Tonya? Tonya has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English, Russian. How popular is Tonya in 2026? In 2026, Tonya ranks #7,596 among girls' names in the U.S., with 14 babies given the name that year. When was Tonya most popular? Tonya reached its peak popularity in 1972, ranking #36 that year with 7,243 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Tonya most popular? Tonya has historically been most popular in South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Tonya. Is Tonya a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Tonya is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Tonya? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Tonya include Lula, Beatrice, Gail. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Tonya? Common variants and related forms of Tonya include Antonia, Antonina, Nia, Nina, Ninochka, Tawnya. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names [👧LulaPeak #36](/lula)[👧BeatricePeak #36](/beatrice)[👧GailPeak #36](/gail)[👧LindsayPeak #36](/lindsay)[👧AaliyahPeak #36](/aaliyah)[👧AgnesPeak #37](/agnes)[👧JanePeak #35](/jane)[👧ConniePeak #35](/connie) ## About the name Tonya Tonya is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1923 and has accumulated 120K births in the dataset. Tonya's peak popularity came in 1972 when it ranked #36\. Use the chart and map above to compare Tonya's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1972 → ](/year/1972) * [ Names of the 1970s → ](/decade/1970s) * [ 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.