Ajanae
Feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Asia.
Name Census estimates that about 813 living Americans carry the first name Ajanae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ajanae today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ajanae births was 2000 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ajanae. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
813
~ 1 in 421,592 Americans
Peak year
2000
63 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,490
Tracked since 1990
Census
Ajanae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 595 people with the first name Ajanae, which placed it at #18,189 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,189
National first-name rank
People counted
595
595 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ajanae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ajanae is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%) and Hispanic (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ajanae described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ajanae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.0% · 470
- Two or more races9.4% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 50
- White2.2% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Ajanae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ajanae from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 454 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ajanae by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ajanae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ajanaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Michigan, California, New York recorded the most babies named Ajanae, while Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ajanae
The name Ajanae is a relatively modern feminine given name with uncertain origins. It is believed to have emerged in the late 20th century, possibly derived from the Arabic name Aisha or the Hebrew name Chana. While its exact roots are unclear, the name has become increasingly popular in recent decades, particularly in the United States and parts of the African diaspora.
There are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Ajanae directly. Its emergence as a distinct name appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon, potentially influenced by the blending of various cultural and linguistic traditions.
Due to its modern nature, there are limited records of individuals bearing the name Ajanae throughout history. However, here are a few notable examples:
1. Ajanae Stephens (born 1998) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Indiana Fever in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
2. Ajanae Burnett (born 1992) is an American professional track and field athlete who specializes in the long jump and triple jump events.
3. Ajanae Crump (born 1993) is an American singer and songwriter who gained recognition for her participation in the reality television show "The Four: Battle for Stardom" in 2018.
4. Ajanae Avery (born 1995) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA.
5. Ajanae Hawkins (born 1989) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for various teams in the WNBA and overseas between 2011 and 2018.
While the name Ajanae has gained popularity in recent years, its historical roots and traditional significance remain somewhat obscure. It is a relatively new name that has emerged as a unique and distinctive choice for parents seeking a modern and culturally diverse name for their children.
People
Ajanae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ajanae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ajanae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ajanae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 813 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ajanae going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 421,592 US residents.
Is Ajanae a common name?
We classify Ajanae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 827 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ajanae most popular?
The single biggest year for Ajanae was 2000, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ajanae is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ajanae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 595 people with the name Ajanae, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,189 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ajanae in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ajanae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ajanae appears almost entirely female. Of the 588 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ajanae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ajanae is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%) and Hispanic (8.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ajanae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ajanae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (470 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ajanae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ajanae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ajanae in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ajanae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ajanae in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ajanae can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Ajanae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.