Tennessee

Native American, Cherokee, place-name

"bend in the river or meeting place"

Tennessee Origin and Meaning

The name Tennessee is a boy's name of Native American origin meaning "bend in the river or meeting place".

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size.

Reese Witherspoon brought it back into the spotlight when she chose it for her son. While Tennessee's two most famous bearers are male, the name can work equally well for a child of any gender.

Tennessee Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 1124 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Tennessee

• 1124 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Tennessee

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Tennessee.

• Brick
• Tex
• Texas
• Dusty
• Mowgli
• Coy
• Indiana
• Brook
• Bishop
• Benny
• Park
• Dodge
• Jack
• Chevy
• Rusty
• Sargent
• Montana
• Link
• York
• Red

Famous People Named Tennessee

• Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams American playwright.
• "Tennessee" Ernie Ford American country music singer.
• Tennessee Edwards American TV Producer.
• Tennessee James Toth (b. 2012) son of actress Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth.
• Tennessee Hawkins Church (b. 2015) son of singer Kenneth Eric Church.

The name Tennessee in Pop Culture

• "Tennessee Jed " Grateful Dead song
• Tennessee U.S. state