Given name
Tawana
“a wanderer”
Tawana is a form of Wanda. One German interpretation is “a wanderer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In American use, Tawana carries the interpretation “a wanderer.” Tawana is a form of Wanda. One German interpretation is “a wanderer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
How it developed
Tawana is used as a form of Wanda.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1934. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Tawana is a form of Wanda. The history of Wanda gives this family its wider story. Wanda appears as a princess in Polish folk tales. The writer Ouida used it for the heroine of her 1883 novel Wanda, helping introduce the name to English-speaking readers.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Tawana through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,545
- 0 boys · 6,545 girls
- Most popular year
- 1974
- 365 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2011. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 365 in 1974. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,003 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tawana’s family of names
Tawana is a form of Wanda. Tawana has a related form in Tawanda. Tawana has a related form in Tawanna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Tawana, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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