Texas Name Meaning, Origins & History

Texas

Pronunciation: TEK-sus

Meaning Friends or allies Origin place names Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#5,180
TREND
160

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Texas in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Texas

  • 731 babies named Texas: U.S. records list 731 babies given the name Texas from 1880 through 2025. Even 235 girls received the name Texas - about 1 girl for every 2 boys.

What Does the Name Texas Mean?

Texas means "friends" or "allies." It comes from the Caddo language, specifically the word táyshaʼ (often written simply taysha), which the Hasinai Caddo people used for themselves and for the allied groups of their confederation. The term described a relationship of friendship and mutual support among peoples, not a place, and it entered European languages as a name for the people and then the land they lived on.

Spanish speakers rendered the Caddo word as Tejas, and English took the name over in the older Spanish spelling Texas, in which the letter x stood for the "sh" sound of the Caddo original. The resemblance to Spanish teja, "roof tile," and its plural tejas is coincidental; the idea that Texas is named for tiles is a folk etymology with no basis in the Caddo source word.

Texas Name History & Origins

The name was first applied to the Hasinai, a group of Caddo-speaking peoples living in what is now east Texas, western Louisiana, and southwestern Arkansas. Their own word táyshaʼ referred to the allied communities of the region. Spanish explorers and missionaries who reached the area in the late 1600s recorded the name as Tejas and extended it from the people to the surrounding territory. In 1691 the Spanish established a province they called Tejas, with a governor based in the region, and the name appeared on Spanish maps and documents from that time onward.

The spelling Texas preserves an older convention of Spanish orthography, in which x represented the "sh" sound. Spanish later shifted that sound to the "h" sound and changed the spelling of such words to j (as Tejas), but English kept the earlier form and pronounced the x as /ks/. The name passed from Spanish to Mexican administration after 1821, was used for the Republic of Texas in 1836, and became the name of a U.S. state in 1845.

As a personal name, Texas is rare and appears mainly in the United States, where place names are occasionally given to children. Its use as a given name derives from the state and its history rather than from any independent tradition of naming in Caddo, Spanish, or English.

How Popular is the Name Texas?

Texas recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2008. Its best rank was #930 in 1881.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Texas Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You like to control everyone within your influence, to shape things to your own liking. If positive, you develop high spirituality, as you have a God's protection. You are sensitive, affectionate, imaginative and cooperative, spiritually aware and prone to self-sacrifice. You can keep secrets and are a good diplomat. You may have healing and psychic powers. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.

✦ Texas's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Texas's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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