Save Gender Masculine Usage Obscure Pronounced Pron. /ˌtɑː.nə.ˈhɑː.si/ [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Ancient Egyptian tꜣ-nḥsj meaning "Nubian Land", itself from the Egyptian roots tꜣ ("land") and nḥsj ("Nubian"). This is the name of American journalist and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates.