Gyasi
An Akan name meaning "saviour, wonderful walker, dependable advisor".
Name Census estimates that about 425 living Americans carry the first name Gyasi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gyasi today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gyasi births was 2000 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gyasi. 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
425
~ 1 in 806,481 Americans
Peak year
2000
21 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,201
Tracked since 1973
Census
Gyasi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 399 people with the first name Gyasi, which placed it at #24,220 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
#24,220
National first-name rank
People counted
399
399 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gyasi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gyasi is Black at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.0%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Gyasi 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 Gyasi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.2% · 308
- Two or more races10.0% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 25
- White4.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Gyasi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gyasi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gyasi 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 Gyasi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gyasis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gyasi
The name Gyasi has its origins in the Akan language, which is spoken by the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. It is believed to have emerged around the 15th century AD during the height of the Ashanti Empire.
Gyasi is derived from the Akan word 'gya', which means 'fire' or 'burn'. It is thought to have been given as a name to signify strength, passion, or resilience, much like the qualities of fire itself.
While the name does not appear to be directly referenced in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been used by various notable individuals throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Gyasi is Gyasi Braimah, a prominent Ghanaian trader and warrior who lived in the late 18th century. He played a significant role in the resistance against British colonial rule in the region.
Another notable figure was Gyasi Oppong, born in 1845, who was a highly respected chief and diplomat in the Ashanti Empire. He was instrumental in negotiating treaties and fostering relationships with neighboring kingdoms.
In more recent times, Gyasi Jeter, born in 1978, is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Gyasi Zardes, born in 1991, is a professional soccer player who currently plays for the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer (MLS) and represents the United States national team.
Lastly, Yaa Gyasi, born in 1989, is a contemporary Ghanaian-American author best known for her critically acclaimed novel "Homegoing", which explores the legacy of slavery and its impact on generations of families.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Gyasi throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence and significance within the Akan culture and beyond.
People
Gyasi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gyasi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gyasi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gyasi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 425 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gyasi 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 806,481 US residents.
Is Gyasi a common name?
We classify Gyasi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 438 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gyasi most popular?
The single biggest year for Gyasi was 2000, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gyasi is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gyasi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 399 people with the name Gyasi, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,220 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 Gyasi 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 Gyasi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gyasi leans strongly male. 376 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 23 female bearers (5.8%). 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 Gyasi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gyasi is Black at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.0%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Gyasi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Gyasi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (308 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 Gyasi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gyasi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gyasi in the SSA data are male. 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 Gyasi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gyasi 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 Gyasi 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 Gyasi?
You can see how many people have the name Gyasi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.