Iya
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "lady".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Iya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Iya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iya births was 2015 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iya. 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 Iya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
2015
23 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,232
Tracked since 1991
Census
Iya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 429 people with the first name Iya, which placed it at #22,989 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
#22,989
National first-name rank
People counted
429
429 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iya is Black at 43.6%. The next largest groups are White (35.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.5%). 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 Iya 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 Iya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.6% · 187
- White35.7% · 153
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.5% · 32
- Two or more races6.8% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Iya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iya 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 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Iya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iya 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 Iya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iya
The name Iya traces its origins to West Africa, particularly the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria. It is believed to have derived from the Yoruba word "iyá," which means "mother." This name is steeped in cultural significance and has been in use for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Iya can be found in the Odu Ifa, a sacred literary corpus of the Yoruba religion. This ancient text, dating back to the 16th century, mentions Iya as a powerful and revered figure, often associated with motherhood, fertility, and nurturing qualities.
In the 18th century, Iya gained prominence as the name of a legendary Yoruba warrior and leader, Iya Abibatu. She was renowned for her bravery and strategic military prowess, leading her forces to several victories against neighboring kingdoms. Iya Abibatu's legacy has been celebrated in oral traditions and folklore, cementing her place in Yoruba history.
Another notable figure bearing the name Iya was Iya Opolopo, a 19th-century Yoruba priestess and healer. She was highly respected for her extensive knowledge of traditional medicine and her ability to commune with the spiritual realm. Iya Opolopo's influence extended beyond her community, and she is remembered as a powerful and influential figure in Yoruba spiritual practices.
In the realm of literature, Iya has been the name of several fictional characters. One of the most famous is Iya Kozigo, the protagonist of the critically acclaimed novel "The Famished Road" by Nigerian author Ben Okri (born in 1959). Iya Kozigo's struggles and resilience in the face of adversity have resonated with readers worldwide.
Moving into the 20th century, Iya Villonga (1904-1989) was a renowned Yoruba artist and sculptor. Her intricate carvings and sculptures depicted various aspects of Yoruba culture, including religious ceremonies, daily life, and traditional attire. Iya Villonga's works have been exhibited in prestigious museums and galleries, showcasing the richness of Yoruba artistic expression.
While the name Iya has its roots in the Yoruba culture, it has transcended its origins and gained recognition in various parts of the world. Its deep-rooted connection to motherhood and nurturing qualities has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with cultural significance and positive connotations.
People
Iya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iya 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Iya a common name?
We classify Iya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 398 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iya most popular?
The single biggest year for Iya was 2015, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Iya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 429 people with the name Iya, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,989 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 Iya 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 Iya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Iya leans strongly female. 414 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 18 male bearers (4.2%). 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 Iya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iya is Black at 43.6%. The next largest groups are White (35.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.5%). 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 Iya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Iya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.6% (187 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 Iya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iya 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 Iya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iya 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 Iya 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 Iya?
You can see how many people have the name Iya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.