Anaia
A feminine given name of Hawaiian origin meaning "beautiful, attractive".
Name Census estimates that about 744 living Americans carry the first name Anaia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anaia today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anaia births was 2024 (142 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anaia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Anaia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
744
~ 1 in 460,691 Americans
Peak year
2024
142 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,513
Tracked since 1997
Census
Anaia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 466 people with the first name Anaia, which placed it at #21,679 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
#21,679
National first-name rank
People counted
466
466 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anaia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anaia is Black at 42.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and White (12.4%). 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 Anaia 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 Anaia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.5% · 198
- Hispanic or Latino28.1% · 131
- White12.4% · 58
- Two or more races10.5% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Anaia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anaia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 309 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anaia 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 Anaia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anaias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Anaia, while Pennsylvania, Indiana, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anaia
The name Anaia is believed to have its origins in the Basque language, which is spoken in the Basque Country, a region straddling the western Pyrenees in northern Spain and southwestern France. The name is thought to be derived from the Basque word "anaia," meaning "brother."
In Basque culture, familial bonds and kinship have traditionally held great significance. The name Anaia may have initially been bestowed upon boys as a way of celebrating the importance of brotherhood and fraternal love. Over time, the name evolved into the feminine form, Anaia, and began to be given to girls as well.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anaia can be found in the "Códice de Roncesvalles," a 12th-century Basque manuscript that contains a list of personal names used in the region during that period. This suggests that the name has been in use for at least eight centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Anaia. One such figure was Anaia de Ibarguren (1566-1644), a Basque noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the defense of the town of Hondarribia during the Thirty Years' War.
Another notable Anaia was Anaia Iztueta (1767-1845), a Basque priest and writer who is celebrated for his contributions to the preservation of Basque language and culture. His work "Gipuzkoako Dantza Gogoangarrien Kondaira" (A History of Memorable Dances in Gipuzkoa) is considered a seminal text in the study of Basque folklore and traditions.
In the 19th century, Anaia Arrospide (1812-1891) was a Basque businesswoman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of her hometown of Zarautz. She is remembered for her efforts in establishing schools and promoting education in the region.
Moving into the 20th century, Anaia Etxebarria (1902-1982) was a Basque writer and poet who played a pivotal role in the revival of Basque literature during the post-Spanish Civil War era. Her works, which often explored themes of identity, language, and cultural preservation, remain influential in Basque literary circles.
Finally, Anaia Mendizabal (1936-2008) was a Basque sculptor and artist whose works have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Her sculptures, often inspired by nature and organic forms, are celebrated for their intricate details and unique perspectives.
People
Anaia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anaia 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
Anaia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anaia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 744 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anaia 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 460,691 US residents.
Is Anaia a common name?
We classify Anaia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 751 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anaia most popular?
The single biggest year for Anaia was 2024, when 142 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anaia is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anaia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 466 people with the name Anaia, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,679 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 Anaia 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 Anaia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anaia appears almost entirely female. Of the 464 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Anaia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anaia is Black at 42.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and White (12.4%). 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 Anaia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Anaia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.5% (198 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 Anaia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anaia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anaia 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 Anaia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anaia 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 Anaia 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 common is the name Anaia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.