Citlali
A feminine Spanish name meaning "star" or "celestial body" of Nahuatl origin.
Name Census estimates that about 4,300 living Americans carry the first name Citlali. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Citlali today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Citlali births was 2005 (272 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Citlali. 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.
Key insights
- • Citlali is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 79,710 Americans
Peak year
2005
272 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,586
Tracked since 1979
Census
Citlali in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,862 people with the first name Citlali, which placed it at #4,708 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
#4,708
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,862 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Citlali
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Citlali is Hispanic at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Citlali 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 Citlali at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.7% · 3,774
- White1.3% · 52
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
- Two or more races0.2% · 8
Popularity
Citlali: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Citlali from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,302 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
Citlali 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 Citlali during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Citlalis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Citlali, while Tennessee, Arkansas, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 181 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Citlali
Citlali is a given name of Nahuatl origin, derived from the indigenous Nahua people of central Mexico. The name has its roots in the ancient Aztec civilization, which flourished in the region from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
The word "Citlali" in Nahuatl language means "star" or "celestial body." It is believed to be a reference to the celestial bodies that held great significance in the Aztec cosmology and religious beliefs. The Aztecs were skilled astronomers and their calendar systems were closely tied to the movements of the stars and planets.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Citlali can be found in the Codex Mendoza, a 16th-century Aztec codex that documented various aspects of Aztec life, including names and genealogies. This suggests that the name was in use among the Aztec nobility and upper classes during the pre-Columbian era.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Citlali. One of the earliest was Citlali, a 16th-century Aztec princess who married the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. Her marriage to Cortés played a significant role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Another notable Citlali was Citlali Fabregat (1906-1996), a Mexican writer, poet, and feminist activist. She was a prominent figure in the Mexican literary and cultural circles of the 20th century and played a crucial role in promoting women's rights and indigenous causes.
In the realm of art, Citlali Portillo (1945-2017) was a renowned Mexican painter and muralist known for her vibrant and colorful depictions of indigenous themes and Mexican culture. Her works adorned numerous public spaces and museums across Mexico.
Citlali Reyes (born 1963) is a contemporary Mexican singer-songwriter and activist. She is known for her socially conscious lyrics and advocacy for indigenous rights and environmental causes. Her music has been widely acclaimed and has earned her several awards and recognitions.
Citlali Hernandez (born 1981) is a Mexican mathematician and computer scientist. She has made significant contributions to the field of computational geometry and has been recognized for her work in promoting women's participation in STEM fields.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Citlali, a name that carries with it the rich cultural heritage and astronomical significance of the ancient Aztec civilization.
People
Citlali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Citlali as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Citlali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Citlali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,300 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Citlali 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 79,710 US residents.
Is Citlali a common name?
We classify Citlali as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Citlali most popular?
The single biggest year for Citlali was 2005, when 272 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Citlali is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Citlali in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,862 people with the name Citlali, or 1.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,708 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 Citlali 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 Citlali?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Citlali appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,850 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Citlali?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Citlali is Hispanic at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Citlali most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Citlali in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.7% (3,774 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 Citlali in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Citlali a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Citlali 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 Citlali still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Citlali 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 Citlali 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 share the name Citlali?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.