Tia began as a short form of names ending in -tia, such as Laetitia, which means "joy" in Latin; in Spanish and Portuguese the word tía means aunt. Actress Tia Mowry of the 1990s sitcom Sister, Sister made it familiar to a generation of American parents. Tia ranked number 406 in 2000, slipped out of the top 1000 in the 2010s and stands at number 1980 in 2025.