Annaya
An Arabic feminine name denoting paradise or heavenly garden.
Name Census estimates that about 329 living Americans carry the first name Annaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Annaya today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Annaya births was 2012 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Annaya. 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 Annaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
329
~ 1 in 1,041,806 Americans
Peak year
2012
26 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,313
Tracked since 1996
Census
Annaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 295 people with the first name Annaya, which placed it at #29,826 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
#29,826
National first-name rank
People counted
295
295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Annaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annaya is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%). 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 Annaya 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 Annaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.1% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino29.5% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.2% · 36
- White6.4% · 19
- Two or more races6.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Annaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Annaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 155 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Annaya 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 Annaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Annayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Annaya, while Texas, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Annaya
The name Annaya has its origins in the Sanskrit language, one of the oldest languages in the world, spoken primarily in ancient India. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "ananta," which means "infinite" or "eternal." The name is thought to have emerged during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Ananta is the name of the celestial serpent upon which Lord Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe, is said to rest. This association with the divine and the concept of eternity has imbued the name Annaya with a sense of timelessness and spiritual significance.
The earliest recorded use of the name Annaya can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, which are considered sacred scriptures in Hinduism. However, it is difficult to pinpoint specific individuals from that era who bore this name, as records were primarily oral and written accounts were scarce.
Throughout history, the name Annaya has been carried by notable individuals across various cultures and regions. One such figure was Annaya Maharshi, a renowned Indian sage and spiritual teacher who lived in the 9th century CE. He is remembered for his teachings on meditation, self-realization, and the attainment of inner peace.
Another notable bearer of the name was Annaya Devi, a 16th-century Indian poet and mystic from the state of Rajasthan. Her works, which centered on devotional poetry and spiritual enlightenment, were widely celebrated during her lifetime and continue to be studied and revered today.
In the modern era, Annaya Charan Sukla, an Indian scholar and linguist who lived from 1890 to 1963, made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit literature and grammar. His works, including translations and commentaries on ancient Sanskrit texts, are considered invaluable resources for researchers and academics.
Moving beyond the Indian subcontinent, Annaya Kemelikian was an Armenian-American artist and sculptor who lived from 1914 to 1992. Her works, inspired by her cultural heritage and personal experiences, explored themes of identity, displacement, and the human condition. Kemelikian's sculptures and installations can be found in various art museums and public spaces around the world.
Lastly, Annaya Cheska was a Polish-American author and journalist who lived from 1938 to 2017. She gained recognition for her insightful writings on political and social issues, particularly her coverage of Eastern European affairs during the Cold War era. Cheska's memoir, "Through the Iron Curtain," offered a poignant account of her experiences living under communist rule in Poland.
People
Annaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Annaya 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
Annaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Annaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 329 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Annaya 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 1,041,806 US residents.
Is Annaya a common name?
We classify Annaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 332 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Annaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Annaya was 2012, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Annaya is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Annaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 295 people with the name Annaya, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,826 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 Annaya 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 Annaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Annaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 294 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Annaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annaya is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%). 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 Annaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Annaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (133 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 Annaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Annaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Annaya 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 Annaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Annaya 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 Annaya 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 people are called Annaya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.