Entry № 2455 · English, French origin

Tawny Tawny — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ TAW-nee /
Gender
Girl
Origin
English, French
Meaning
"Golden-brown (Tawny Kitaen; Tawny Cypress, Yellowjackets)"
Syllables
2
Rank · US 2025
№ 0
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "golden-brown (tawny kitaen; tawny cypress, yellowjackets)".

Tawny is from the Anglo-French *tané* — "golden-brown, the color of tanned leather." Adopted as a feminine given name in mid-20th-century America. **A top-500 US baby name from 1976 to 1992**. **Tawny Kitaen (1961-2021)** — American actress and model; defined the 1980s music-video era through her appearances dancing on the hoods of Jaguars in Whitesnake videos "Here I Go Again," "Is This Love," and "Still of the Night"; *Bachelor Party* (1984), *Witchboard* (1986). **Tawny Cypress (born 1976)** — **American actress; plays adult Taissa Turner on Showtime's *Yellowjackets* (2021-present), one of the most-acclaimed psychological-thriller series of the 2020s — the show received the Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series and Cypress earned widespread praise for her performance**. **Tawny Newsome** — American actress and comedian; *Star Trek: Lower Decks* (2020-2024) voice cast; *Space Force* (2020-2022). **Tawny Welch** — American model; daughter of Raquel Welch. **"Tawny"** is also a popular variant alongside Tawnee and Tawney, all peaking in the mid-1980s era of Tara, Tracy, and Tonya. The name has had a quiet 2020s comeback through *Yellowjackets* and the broader vintage-1980s revival.

Featured throughout 1980s-2020s American TV.

Golden-brown. Tawny Kitaen in Whitesnake videos; Tawny Cypress's adult Taissa on Showtime's Yellowjackets.

The name in its native script.

Tawny
Transliteration
Tawny
Pronunciation
/ ˈtɔː.ni /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Tawny stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 0 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 320 in 1981
Babies named Tawny · last year
88 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1971
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #320 NOW · —

Tawnys before her.

Real people
Tawny Kitaen
American 1980s actress.
1961 – 2021
Tawny Cypress
American actress (Yellowjackets).
born 1976
Tawny Newsome
American actress and comedian.
born 1985
In fiction
Adult Taissa Turner
Yellowjackets.
2021

Names connected to Tawny.

The number behind Tawny.

7

The Seeker

Tawny reduces to seven — the number of Yellowjackets.

Why families chose this name.

"Cypress's gold. Five letters. Tawny."
Catherine · Mother of one · Long Beach