Flavia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "golden, blonde, or yellow-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 972 living Americans carry the first name Flavia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Flavia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Flavia births was 1921 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Flavia. 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 Flavia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
972
~ 1 in 352,628 Americans
Peak year
1921
39 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,755
Tracked since 1881
Census
Flavia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,978 people with the first name Flavia, which placed it at #3,925 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
#3,925
National first-name rank
People counted
5.0K
4,978 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flavia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Flavia is Hispanic at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.0%) and Black (6.4%). 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 Flavia 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 Flavia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.0% · 2,290
- White43.0% · 2,141
- Black or African American6.4% · 319
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 146
- Two or more races1.3% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Popularity
Flavia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Flavia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 258 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Flavia 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 Flavia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Flavias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Florida, California, New York recorded the most babies named Flavia, while Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Flavia
The name Flavia has its origins in the Latin language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "flavus," which means "golden" or "yellow." The name likely emerged during the Roman era, when it was associated with the golden-haired or fair-complexioned individuals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Flavia can be traced back to the 1st century AD. Flavia was the family name of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire from 69 to 96 AD. This dynasty included emperors such as Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, who were known for their military conquests and contributions to architecture and infrastructure in Rome.
In ancient Roman history, one notable figure bearing the name Flavia was Flavia Neapolis, also known as Nablus. She was a Roman city in the region of Samaria, which is now part of modern-day Palestine. The city was founded by the Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and named after his family, the Flavian dynasty.
During the medieval period, the name Flavia was relatively uncommon, but it resurfaced in the Renaissance era. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Flavia was Flavia Peretti (1554-1598), an Italian noblewoman and the sister of Pope Sixtus V. She played a significant role in the patronage of arts and architecture during the Renaissance period in Rome.
Another prominent figure with the name Flavia was Flavia Arlunno (1615-1670), an Italian painter and engraver from Rome. She was one of the few female artists recognized during her time and is known for her religious paintings and engravings.
In the 19th century, Flavia Steno (1840-1921) was an Italian writer and journalist who championed women's rights and advocated for social reforms in Italy. She was also actively involved in the Italian unification movement.
More recently, Flavia Pennetta (born in 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She won the 2015 US Open singles title and was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world. Pennetta retired from professional tennis in 2015 after her US Open victory.
Flavia Coelho (born in 1986) is a Brazilian model and actress. She has appeared in various fashion campaigns and television shows, including the popular Brazilian soap opera "Avenida Brasil" in 2012.
People
Flavia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Flavia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Flavia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Flavia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 972 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Flavia 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 352,628 US residents.
Is Flavia a common name?
We classify Flavia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,830 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Flavia most popular?
The single biggest year for Flavia was 1921, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Flavia is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Flavia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,978 people with the name Flavia, or 1.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,925 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 Flavia 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 Flavia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Flavia appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,978 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 Flavia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Flavia is Hispanic at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (43.0%) and Black (6.4%). 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 Flavia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Flavia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (2,290 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 Flavia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Flavia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Flavia 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 Flavia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Flavia 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 Flavia 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 Flavia?
You can see how many people have the name Flavia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.