Given name
Tendai
“thankful to God”
Tendai is used as a given name. One African interpretation is “thankful to God.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “thankful to God.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1999. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Tendai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 5 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 boys is 5 in 1999. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 271 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.
Tendai’s family of names
In Shona usage, Tendai has a later derivative in ZENDAYA. Tendai has a related form in Tendaa. Tendai has a related form in Tendae.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Tendai
- Tendai NdoroZimbabwean association football player (1985-2025)
- Tendai MtawariraSouth African rugby union footballerborn 1985
- Tendai ChataraZimbabwean cricket player (born 1991)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Tendai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tupac
“a messenger warrior”
>99% boys
Themba
“one who is trusted” · “one who is trustworthy”
>99% boys
Chidi
“one who is cheerful” · “God exists”
>99% boys
Gyasi
“a superior man”
>99% boys
Salaam
“resembling a peach”
>99% boys
Oluyemi
“full of God; a pious man”
>99% boys
Koffi
“born on a Friday”
>99% boys
Obasi
“one who honors God”
>99% boys